Glint
by M.C. Griffin
Summary: A provocative and erotic look into the mind of a character who intrigued us all. I tried to categorize this story, but I realized every category was implemented. Maybe that is true for all stories. More specifically, maybe that is true for life.
1. Beauty

You were born from the valiant, noble, great city of Mobotropolis, home of athletes, scholars, warriors, politicians and perverts.  
  
You grew up in royalty. All your friends, the sons and daughters of monarchs and aristocrats. War heros and geniuses.  
  
You played at home with these companions of yours while your friends' parents and your's go off to fight wars and have orgies.  
  
You walked among some of the greatest citizens and best prostitutes when you went with your best friend into town to buy a chilly dog.  
  
One day, you awake to the town sirens. Your noble city being overrun with darkness. Metal warriors upon floating stallions of kevlar slaughtering those who you've looked upon every day as friends and family. Those you cherished were extinguished right in front of your eyes as beams of light from the metal warriors' silver lances cut through them like dazzling arrows.  
  
You went with your father's royal escorts through town in a carriage as the destruction rained down in the city. You held all of its beauty so deep inside for so long, you felt as though your chest was being pushed through from the inside. Tears started to pour down your face. The horror of the moment gripped you as if it were a creature of its own. And then, as you looked up at the destruction, at the burning buildings and torn up streets that you could once call safe and at the good, honest sinners who you've seen everyday, as the light from the fire reflects off of the tears spilling out over your eyelids you realize...  
  
How beautiful it all is.  
  
You stopped crying and wiped your eyes. You lifted the carriage window and stood up on the seat. You watched in utter admiration as the metal warriors swept the city of all the filth you could not really see before.  
  
Mr. Wallace the pig, the friendly store keeper, now being disemboweled from the light of the warriors was only a week ago paying a very dedicated prostitute for good services.  
  
Mrs. Fortinbras the mouse had swallowed the semen of two other partners just that previous night but was now being led away at lance point to her doom  
  
Mr. Flavius the dog who worked as a cafeteria attendant was now running out of his burning house wearing women's underwear followed by a male cat wearing nothing but a loin cloth that had caught fire.  
  
You were pulled down by an escort named Garret who was known for frequent attendance at the great orgies that were held at one of the locations for finer dining. He looked at your innocent smile in disbelief as if you were doing something horrible. Garret was hit in the heart by crossfire with that look of disbelief painted on his face. Had you been ten years older you and Garret probably would have been fucking in secret.  
  
Laser wounds don't bleed.  
  
Before a creature knows of lust they know of love. You never felt that you understood the concept of love even though they wrote of it so freely in storybooks that your father would read to you. You told your father you loved him, but then you told your father a lot of things to keep him happy.  
  
The carriage came to a sudden crashing stop. Splinters of wood whirl pooled through the interior of the carriage. As you shielded your eyes the escorts carried you out into the heat of the burning streets. As the escort dropped from a beam of light hitting him in the head you fell.  
  
You could hear the last escort's screams as you lay curled up on the ground shielding yourself from the debris of the landscape exploding all around you.  
  
You lift your head from your hands to witness your true love for the first time. I rode atop my floating craft surrounded by warriors looking down on you looking up at me. Who could tell then that it would all play out like it did.  
  
You had new escorts now. The heroes made of steel walked you safely through the destruction. I lead our little parade knowing of the look of admiration you shot at my back as my cape waved long from my craft.  
  
By the time we arrived in the center of town my warriors had already turned your father's glorious castle into our new fortress. It would later be built into the gorgeous construct that it is now. You were shown to the cell where all the other children were kept. You found many of your friends. There were many friends you didn't find.  
  
Sonic the hedgehog. Rotor the walrus. Bunny the rabbit. Baby Miles the fox. Antoine the dog or whatever. You would meet several others through your life but for now these were the only friends you had left. They all cried in spite of the true greatness of the situation. You concluded that the good nature of the event was lost on them. You hated to see your friends crying though.  
  
For days and nights you sat in that cell with the screams and whales echoing off the walls and into your ears and eventually you began to cry too. You kept crying. When I came to bring you and the rest out of the cell you were crying. When we walked through the hallway you were crying. When we stepped into the war room you were crying. When you saw the large tube like machine you knew no name for you were crying. When your father and his cohorts were brought in with their wrists bound and their legs tied together you were crying. When he was put in the machine in spite of his struggle you were crying. When I pressed the button you were crying.  
  
When he emerged you stopped crying.  
  
A living breathing statue. A robot.  
  
It was a miracle. All that confused emotion washed away with one single push of a button. You wanted to run to his side and hug him. Congratulate him. You hid your smile from your crying friends. You never wanted to lose their respect.  
  
Your eyes crossed with Sonic's uncle Chuck's. Even though he didn't look it, you knew he felt the same way. He would regard the machine as evil, when he was the true inventor all along. Although he acted as though he hated it, you were right about him. He saw the same perfection in it that you did. Why else would he invent it?  
  
You watched with amazement as every adult was turned to a beautiful robot. They all could now know perfection. Bones, flesh, fur. Levers, pulleys, armor.  
  
Sonic was crippled with desperation. He was on his knees with his head to the ground. He quivered with intensity. A puddle of tears gathered on the floor. His face looked as if his ears were going to ooze blood and it would come squirting out of his tear ducts.  
  
The children were next.  
  
It was about this time the hedgehog started to scream.  
  
You had only recently met Bunny. Her parents were big time tycoons from the southern, more industrial part of mid Mobius. She made a good friend and, although Sonic was a lot mor fun to be with, you could relate to her a lot better. She was the first true friend you ever had who wasn't a boy. Now she was next in line, you right behind her. You told her it would be okay. That it was a good thing. That the machine would make her better. More efficient. She would be happier. She would be complete. She would be perfect.  
  
All she could say back to you was no.  
  
All she could say when they grabbed her was no.  
  
All she could say when they took her to the machine was no.  
  
All she could say when I pressed the button was no.  
  
All she could say when the process began. Foot to head. Was no. She and Sonic screamed it in unison. "NO!!!"  
  
You tried to keep Sonic back. You tried to let a good thing happen to a good friend. You wanted your turn. He didn't care. Some friend he was.  
  
You always knew Sonic was unnaturally fast but he ran faster than you ever saw him run. He rolled into the machine and shattered the glass. You and I both watched in horror as he dispatched my warriors. As sparks flew and oil spilled like blood you began to cry again.  
  
Sonic delivered you and the rest of your friends from me that day. I can only imagine how hard it was for you to choose between my legacy and your friends but I think you chose well.  
  
Knothole Village: Home of the Freedom Fighters.  
  
As time went on and my empire grew, you aged. Your mind conformed to the common opinion that I was an evil and vile corrupter. Some wanted to end my reign. Some started masturbating. Some wanted to destroy me. Some developed breasts. Some wanted to torture me. Some started their period for the first time. Some wanted to crush my head. Some started showing interest in other animals of the opposite sex. It seems that when we come of age all we think of is sex and violence. Creating life and destroying it. Starting it and ending it. Making babies and killing old men.  
  
You started to notice the change in your friends and yourself. Their bodies became more developed and full, more distinguishable from each other.  
  
The change could be noticed easiest in Bunny. Her breasts had grown to be very large, with hips to match. In spite of her metal lower torso and arm, she was very beautiful. Chuck had built the roboticizer to allow physical growth in robots made from children. I'm not sure he had such beauty in mind though.  
  
You would always hear other survivors talk dirty about Bunny. They would make fun of her physical appearance, be it her metallic parts or her curvy, large breasted body. They would imitate her southern accent since there were very few villagers from outside Mobotropolis.  
  
Every time someone talked ill of Bunny something would flash in your mind. Something familiar. Whatever it was, it left you with the bitter sweet feeling of hate.  
  
As leader, you were always very busy but not this week. This week Antoine was in charge of planning the mission. You got to relax for the first time in days. Weeks. Months. Years.  
  
How long had it been?  
  
You laid on your bed wasting time wondering how long it'd been since you could waste time. You remembered the first days when everyone was still getting organized. A bunch of little kids talking about bringing down a genius. Honestly. Granted you did lead some very good assaults but they were obviously without merit. In thinking of this you started thinking of Sonic. The simple thought of Sonic brought arousal immediately. You never knew why. He wasn't all that attractive. Sure he had some looks about him but not what you would call beautiful. He acted kind with you, this was appealing, but sometimes he wouldn't be the nicest of people to others. This should've been a big turn off but the feeling didn't change. It was unexplainable to you.  
  
Your hand reached down your body.  
  
Undescribable images flashed through your mind. All of them familiar. All of them of the hedgehog. Blurry, undefinable. You've seen them all before but you couldn't put the images back together.  
  
The entire world passed around you for the rest of the day. It could never have been long enough to satisfy all that had been pent up inside you over the years. This was exactly the kind of vacation you needed. Sit back, relax, and play with yourself. I guess the irony of this was that you could've easily had any man in the village including Sonic. They could've done your every whim but you kept making little excuses for yourself. In all actuality you were just shy, but you blamed everyone else for how you felt when they looked at you. There is, of coarse, nothing wrong with this but it did inhibit you from getting what you wanted, and now you were spending the entire day knuckle deep in yourself because of it. Needless to say, however, there was something missing. You still hadn't climaxed even after six hours.  
  
There was something missing.  
  
The images of Sonic flashing in your mind started to fade and become more and more distant as you lifted your hand back up.  
  
There was something missing.  
  
You got up out of bed to inspect the damage. The bed was completely stripped except for the sheet you laid on top of which was half way off with the other sheets laying on the floor from being kicked back. Your hair was messed up from rolling around and your pillow ended up on the foot of the bed. You were tired. You were groggy. You were unsatisfied.  
  
There was something missing.  
  
You gave a deep sigh and put on your vest. When you came out your door, you came out with your head down. It seemed like a day wasted. Completely unfulfilling and utterly shameful. You heard the hustle and bustle of the village but you kept your eyes on the ground.  
  
There was something missing.  
  
You looked up at the surrounding forest. You could hear the birds from the green treetops with rays of the sun peering through. You noticed the sound dying and you looked around you. Everyone was staring at you. Like you were from beyond the grave. Like they thought you had died in there, and they were all too frightened to find out for themselves. What if they had come in. To see their proud leader demean herself on her bed.  
  
There was something missing.  
  
Your fist clenched. Like clockwork all the villagers broke their stare and went about their business. The noise began once again and all was well.  
  
Found.  
  
Why is it that in silence we become uncomfortable? Do we need noise? Are our comfort zones equipped with stereo surround? Even in the natural wonderland that you called home there was no peace.  
  
You thought about seeing the hedgehog. You even walked down the green dewy path which lead to the great lake. He would be fishing there. You saw him sitting on the dock with his makeshift fishing rod. He had the most peaceful look on his face, accented by the beautiful plush shades of blues and greens from the lake and the reflection of the trees.  
  
He looked over in your direction.  
  
You froze up. He offered a fond smile you could barely see beyond your brown hair. You brushed your hair out of your eyes and waved back. You felt dirty. You lowered your head and walked back down the wet, green path. You felt so out placed. Something that dirty couldn't live amongst all this surrounding beauty. You look around you at the towering nature and all of its lush innocence. Then you looked at your hand. You thought of Sonic.  
  
As you turned off the beaten path to the hill looking over the village you began to cry. You tried not to think of concepts such as pervert, slut, nymph.  
  
Oh god.  
  
Tears rolled down your eyes making trails on the ground. The log bench looking over the village was suddenly very inviting. You rushed to the bench and swiftly sat down and threw you face into your hands.  
  
You hadn't cried this hard since you were a child. Something seemed lost. It had been a truly long time since you could really be happy. These small thoughts, these little flashes of deja vu, would blip in your mind. So familiar. Like a swift dream. But just as a dream, you couldn't hold on to it.  
  
You could hear the steady sound of heavy footprints stepping through the brush. You didn't care, you kept right on crying. A little sympathy could be nice.  
  
"Sally? What's wrong?"  
  
You looked up to see the concerned face of Bunny. She looked like she was going to start crying herself, she was so worried. You looked away without saying anything. The village looked all the prettier over the hill through the tears that wrapped your eyes. You felt the cold touch of Bunny's robotic hand on your shoulder.  
  
"Please, tell me."  
  
You looked over at her round face, her lips parted.  
  
Deja Vu again.  
  
You looked down at Bunny's lower torso. You tried to organize your words. Tried to find a way to tell her without letting too much out. The cold touch of Bunny's arm could be felt sliding across your back.  
  
Deja Vu. If only you could hold onto it.  
  
"Whatever it is, Sally, I'll understand."  
  
"I know." Your voice faltered. The words sounded like a skip in a record. You cleared your throat. "It's just... sometimes I wonder if he ever thinks of me."  
  
  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Sonic!"  
  
Bunny recoiled a bit at this. She never heard you express such emotion over anything. You generally acted stoic and hard most of the time. There were very few who could unlock the more light hearted side of you. "Are you attracted to him?" she finally asked.  
  
"In the most perverse way" You stuttered back. The tears building up again.  
  
"And you want to know if he thinks of you the same way?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Do you want him to?"  
  
"I..." You never thought this far before. Would you want him jacking off to the thought of you? "I don't know."  
  
"Why are you thinking about all of this now?"  
  
"I don't know... I guess I've been feeling a bit cramped. Like I can only be a leader but a part of me wants to be a lover."  
  
"To make someone happy?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
You felt the tender, soft, sympathetic touch of Bunny's other hand on your own. You looked up to see her eyes fixated on you. You felt her cold arm pulling you toward her.  
  
"Me too..."  
  
*You tOld heR it woUld be oKay. That it waS a goOd tHing. That the machinE wOuld mAke her beTter. More eFficient. She woulD be hAppier. She wOuld be comPlete. She wouLd be pErfect.*  
  
As the two of you stood up and embraced you finally caught the memory. The happiness. That one true instance of happiness. You wanted to recreate it. The cleansing. The fire. You were now one step closer to finding it again. With every stroke of Bunny's cold hand down your back you gained more and more of the memory.  
  
You found yourself moving down Bunny's lower torso and feeling the sides of her metal hips. She let loose a soft breath and came really close to your face.  
  
Far more than friendship.  
  
Bunny planted pleasant little kisses on your cheek. You were surprised at first but then you moved your head around to allow her lips to caress all around your face. This was intimacy. This was love. Love as oppose to lust. Love for another woman? No, love for a machine. You pulled on her back to bring her even closer to you. The chill of her metallic knees against your furred flesh gave you a pleasing sensation. Her well developed breasts pressed against yours. Her metal hand ran through your hair.  
  
"Can I be yours?" she asked, looking deeply into your eyes, smiling faintly. She put a lot of emphasis on the word, "I". As if wondering if it was her turn or something. You immediately thought of Sonic, and those quick flashes of images.  
  
Lust  
  
"Yes, you can." You said as she pulled your head in.  
  
First kiss.  
  
You parted with her and looked into her big pretty eyes. You moved her metal hand in front of your face, to admire it. You looked at all the rivets, metal, and exposed wiring in her hand.  
  
"What?" she asked nervously.  
  
You replied by kissing her, and you held it for a good long time.  
  
The two of you walked down to the village through the lush forest. Your soft hand in hers, hard and cold. The landscape didn't seem to have the same beauty anymore.  
  
You came into the strategy room where Antoine would no doubt be planning their next mission. You hoped it would take him much longer. It had only been the third day into your break and you already were the happiest you'd been since you were a child hanging your head out of the speeding chariot.  
  
Antoine was looking at a map he had made of a certain area of Robotropolis on the chalk board. All around you were geometric tools and maps made based off of the info gained from previous assignments. You spent most of your time in there. You couldn't figure why anybody would be so dedicated. None of the attacks on Robotropolis were ever that effectual. Antoine always had a misplaced sense of loyalty towards his dead legacy.  
  
You were angry at him for keeping all of those dead people inside. Not letting them pass on.  
  
If he could let them go then maybe you could too. The Mobotropolian legacy she was supposed to uphold always seemed to be more trouble than it was worth. No "good riddance". No "better off without it". You couldn't look down on your past. You always had to have pride.  
  
Our princess musn't be un-loyal.  
  
Antoine heard the two of you come in and turned around. His eyes shot right to your hand clasped around Bunny's. He looked down for a moment, then turned back to the chalk board.  
  
"I assume you are 'ere to see ze plans princess?"  
  
In his thick French accent, Antoine's statement sounded more like a question.  
  
"Yes." You replied.  
  
He turned to look at you again and saw yours and Bunny's hands locked again and turned away again to the chalk board again. Instant replay. God forbid our princess should hold relations with another girl. No, not her innocent highness.  
  
Antoine looked back through the corner of his eye at you.  
  
"Bunny, could you scamper off to ze study to get my book on ze attack patterns of common SWAT Bots?"  
  
It was odd. You were always under the impression that Antoine had a thing for Bunny, but now he seemed discontent with her. Was he jealous of you, or could he be more disappointed? Inadequate?  
  
"Sure" She replied  
  
"Zanks"  
  
Bunny kissed your cheek as she left. You weren't sure if Antoine saw or not but if he did he was pretending to not have.  
  
The moment Bunny left, Antoine turned around towards you military style. You were immediately offended by this move. What need was there for such procedure? He still wore his father's doubtlessly cum stained military jacket. He never truly knew his father but he still worshiped him like a god.  
  
"Take a look 'ere princess" You wondered if he forgot your name. "As you can see, Robotropolis is controlled by countless self maintaining computers." No shit, you thought "We still 'aven't come up with a way to get to zese computers without ze access codes and none of our explosives can penetrate ze lead casings around ze computers" You started to drift, trying to keep Antoine's shrill voice from inducing an aneurism "'Owever, I 'ave found zat the cooling system for ze computers is a large air conditioning unit that cycles air into all of ze computers..."  
  
"And?"  
  
"And what, princess?"  
  
"Then what?"  
  
"Oh... we blow it up."  
  
"We blow up their air conditioning?"  
  
"Uh..."  
  
"We're attempting to overtake a master of warfare with an army 3 times our size in both numbers and physical stature and we're doing it by turning off their fuckin' air conditioning!!?"  
  
"Ze computers will over heat!"  
  
"It's not even summer!!"  
  
"..."  
  
"When I come back you better have something fucking better than that or I swear you'll be taken off this mission and someone else will be put in as mission coordinator!!"  
  
"Listen, I"  
  
"No! You listen you little shit!! I've lived my entire life with your bitching and whining!! Nothing has ever come from these stupid fucking missions and I'm getting tired. I'm not wasting anymore resources on these needlessly tactful missions. I want results!! If we're going to sneak around it better be to find a good place to kill that fat fuck sitting somewhere thinking about how superior he is. He knows he's smarter Antoine!! WE know he's fucking smarter!!! Let's stop trying to outwit the Doctor and let's start trying to take him down like we fucking set out to do!!!"  
  
You stormed out of the strategy room with a smile on your face. You felt empowered. Like the leader you were supposed to be. Not just some kind of figure head. You were once again reminded of the day I came to Mobotropolis. Everything you did now was based off that reclaimed memory of so long ago. You found the key to happiness. Everything seemed nostalgic of that fateful day.  
  
You were finding true happiness faster and faster.  
  
Suddenly everyone seemed to be walking in the opposite direction as you. Then they were running. Then they were shouting. You saw Rotor run by and you ran to catch up with him.  
  
"What happened?!" you ask frantically.  
  
"It's Antoine!!" He says. "He tried to cut his wrists open with a pair of scissors!!"  
  
************************************  
  
This is not the end.  
  
Now that you have finished Glint part 1, please review with your sincerest opinions. 


	2. Futility

I forgot to mention this before. All characters are copywrite Sega, and other media companies responsible for the international Sonic franchises (including DiC and Archie). This applies to all 'Glint' stories.   
  
Story is by: M.C. Griffin (unless otherwise stated... I guess.)  
******************  
  
The night was always brightened by the burning lanterns on everyone's huts whenever anything bad happened. You walked solemnly through the streets spotted with dancing fire from everyone's windows. You might've killed Antoine. You would have been responsible for the death of a friend. You would've gotten away with it.  
  
It would've been the perfect crime.  
  
Bunny stepped into the strategy room right as Antoine did it. He looked at her the moment he struck down. Bunny's ears rang with the loud, messy crack sound that echoed throughout the village.  
  
Antoine was stronger than anyone ever gave him credit for. You'd have to be strong to run your sword through a heavily armored SWAT Bot, or to run a pair of paper cutting scissors through your wrist, shattering the bone, and sticking into the table.  
  
Antoine let out a bit of a whimper as he stared at Bunny, staring at him. She was stunned by what she saw. She never witnessed that much blood before but that wasn't what held her there. Antoine gave her a look of violent disgust. As if she betrayed him in some horrible, distasteful way.  
  
You should know that the first thing she thought about was you. She dropped the book she was sent to get and it fell in the large puddle of blood that had collected. She seized the pair of scissors impaling Antoine's wrist.  
  
He screamed.  
She pulled.  
He screamed.  
She tugged.  
He screamed.  
She screamed.  
He screamed.  
  
"Don't!! I 'ave to die!!!"  
  
As the scissors finally came out blood squirted from Antoine's wrist and splattered all over the maps of Robotropolis. Men shed their blood to get that info and now they were stained by Antoine's self sacrifice  
  
"I can't live in zis lie anymore!!!"  
Bunny ran out of the strategy room to get the nearby medics. The moment she tried to speak she through up.  
  
"Our attempts are futile!! We can never 'ave our home back!!!"  
  
When the medics showed up Antoine tried to get up and hit them with his good hand  
  
"We're stuck!! We'll be stuck for ze rest of our lives in zis purgatory!!"  
  
He fell to his knees, his blood smearing on one medic's face.  
  
"We're stuck and zere is nothing we can do about it!!"  
  
The medics made it half way to Knothole's poor excuse for a hospital. Antoine's self inflicted wound was one of their hardest to mend in a long time. There was even some worry that they might have had to amputate. You weren't surprised. There wasn't much holding Antoine's hand together. You watched as they stitched his hand together and attempted to keep him calm when he woke up half way through.  
  
In Knothole there is no anesthetic.  
  
His screams...  
  
You became impatient with his struggle.  
  
The lamp went out, and all was silent. The medic let out a light sigh.  
  
"He'll be fine... Someone get that lantern!!"  
  
You could hear Antoine's garbled speech as he tried to debate the doctor's decision to save him.  
  
Suicide. You inspired suicide.  
  
"Its... all... futile..."  
  
The doctor left the room to wash his hands and you stayed and listened to Antoine.  
  
"Fighting it just prolongs ze... inevitable"  
  
"What? What is inevitable?" You ask.  
  
"Roboticization... Zat or death, Robotnik left no other options" It was hard enough to tell what he was saying through his thick accent.  
  
"So... why kill yourself?"  
"It was zat or prolong my existence... until a fate worse zan death."  
  
"There is no fate worse than death."  
  
"Wha...?"  
  
"Now you can either try to end yourself and waste a perfectly good body, or you can suck it up and except whatever hand your dealt"  
  
"If I'm caught...? If you're caught?"  
  
"Then we except."  
  
"... But...Roboticization...Slavery"  
  
"You never know" You smiled "It could be wonderful."  
  
Antoine tilted his head as if he had gone blind in one eye. Then his eyes rolled back in his head unevenly and he passed out. You looked about the lantern-lit room with all of its tools, chemicals and medical books, some still stained with blood from keeping Antoine alive. Alive against his will.  
  
You emerged from the hospital hut. The drama was over, so all of the lights were off. You saw Bunny sitting down, leaning against the hospital wall. She was almost camouflaged against the light, goldish brown texture of the hospital. Her metallic legs glinted in the moonlight.  
  
"You gonna be okay?" You asked.  
  
"Ya... I'll be fine." she replied uneasily. "I'm gonna hit the hay"  
  
"Well goodnight." You said, walking away a bit disappointed in how this great day had ended. If Antoine was going to give them the grief of an attempted suicide the least he could do was finish the job so you wouldn't have to worry about his psychological well being.  
  
"Y'know..." You heard bunny call out behind your back, "it wouldn't hurt to have some company tonight." The moon reflected so brightly off of the metal parts of her.  
  
You smiled innocently "Is that an invitation?"  
  
She grinned "I don't know... Could be."  
  
The two of you held hands as you walked down to her hut.  
  
It felt so odd. Only this afternoon did you attempt to relieve yourself to the thought of Sonic without avail. Only this afternoon did you realize that you ever felt anything for Bunny except friendship. Only this afternoon did you ever feel intimacy. Only this afternoon did you ever have a memory of my invasion. Only this afternoon did you ever vent your frustration, or speak in a disciplinary manner. Only this afternoon did Antoine try to kill himself. What an eventful day.  
  
We had arrived.  
  
To understand Bunny's room you must first understand a villager named Charlotte. Charlotte was a cat from the same industrial city that Bunny was from, although she lacked the accent. Charlotte was an artist of the dark, abstract kind. Bunny hadn't met Charlotte until after the resistance formed but she fell in love with her artwork immediately. Charlotte's parents had never been there for her and when they were it seemed to simply be to tell her how much of a disappointment she was. Her art featured black and red images of massive authority type figure making silhouettes of black in red archways. Large, scary. Other pictures were cold, death like pieces, one, a self portrait of her looking down on a worm coming up from the ground. The entire pic was done in shades of blue on white. Some of it was also very erotic, a highlight being a pair of breasts framed in thorns. Charlotte seemed to be able to make due with what she, you and the other villages could get their hands on.  
  
Bunny's room was covered in Charlotte's art. A veritable shrine. It was all very creepy. You tried not to focus your eyes on one for too long as Bunny showed you around her room. You did, however, find one you liked. It was of a little mouse girl offering the viewer of the picture a dead cat. The blues and whites seemed to fit harmoniously with the feeling of the picture. It was called 'Evolution'.  
  
The girl in the picture looked so happy with herself. Like she accomplished something praise worthy. Bunny came from behind you and kissed your neck. As you stood there looking at this creepy little mouse girl, Bunny placed kisses higher and higher on your neck. Upon the fourth kiss you held her head there. She began sucking on your head, flicking her tongue on your furry skin every once in a while. You pulled her up and the two of you embraced with a kiss. A long, deep kiss. Bunny's lower torso seemed colder than ever. Her cold, stimulating hand reaching down your waist.  
  
The two of you collapsed onto her bed.  
  
Images of Sonic began to flash in your head. Still unclear, still vague, but they were becoming larger and a bit less static.  
  
No! You thought, I have to keep my head in the moment.  
  
You pressed up against Bunny's large bust.  
*Sonic jumping from something onto something*  
Her natural hand grabbed your ass.  
*Sonic standing on something with something*  
You kissed her with tongue.  
*Sonic running from something with someone else*  
You pulled your head up, startled a little by the images now coming faster.  
  
"What?" Bunny asked. "Am I doing something wrong?"  
  
"You'd know better than I would..." You reply. Insecurities set in. "Are you sure about this, is this really what you want?"  
  
Bunny reached her very cold, metallic hand to your face and stroked it softly. You remembered being paraded down the burning streets by my warriors. You smiled. "Of coarse." she said " I want you."  
  
You put your hand to her steel hand and remembered waking up to town sirens.  
  
You ran your hand down her mechanical arm and remembered Garret's violent death.  
  
You held her cute, round robotic butt and thought of Uncle Chuck awaiting roboticization with the fake look of fear on his face.  
  
The two of you kissed and groped continuously through the night.  
You'd touch flesh and think of the hedgehog's blurry, blue image.  
You'd touch metal and think of the happy murder and red fire of Mobotropolis.  
Blue.  
Red.  
Bunny's two halves seemed to dawn opposite sides of the spectrum.  
  
All of a sudden Charlotte's paintings didn't seem so creepy. They were understandable. Everything was love or death. Sex or violence. Blue or Red.  
  
You didn't resist the images anymore. As you and Bunny kissed on her bed you just waded through them, and it began to make you happy. It began to become part of the sensation. A slide show for your mind. When the two of you finally finished, so did the images.  
  
"Thank you, that was entertaining."  
  
Bunny looked at you oddly for a moment. Then she smiled. "Indeed" she replied.  
  
"I want you and Rotor to plan the next assault into Robotropolis, I can't trust Antoine in his current disposition."  
  
Bunny's eyelids appeared to be getting heavy, it was late. She smiled warmly and said "Okay."  
  
The two of you fell asleep in each other's arms.  
  
Romance.  
  
The next morning the two of you emerged from Bunny's hut with complete contempt. Your soft, furry hand on her smooth metal hand. The two of you had the brightest of smiles on your furry little faces. You hugged in public. You spoke with nervous friends, afraid to ask about why you were so close. They could ask if they wanted, but they never did. No questions asked, no secrets kept.  
  
Your entire childhood, the adults would keep themselves around you. With other adults they'd cuss, cry, yell, fuck, talk of fucking, laugh at crude jokes and stories of personal exhibitionism. Everyone pretended that Mobotropolis was this happy, clean, problem free city and that Mobius was a happy, clean, problem free planet. It was refreshing to finally be able to express your true self with Bunny.  
  
That is, until you came across little Miles in the Orchard.  
  
Bunny had already parted with you to start working on the mission plan with Rotor. You were going to the orchards to pick some oranges. That's where you saw Miles standing on a stool picking oranges, his twin tails drifting in the wind, fallen leaves drifting through the air.  
  
The sun shined through the trees in a bright orange and you had to shade your eyes to look up at him. Miles stepped down the stool with an arm full of oranges reaching up to his eyes. He dumped them into a nearby basket he had out for himself. He looked up and noticed you standing there.  
  
"Oh, hi Aunt Sally!"  
  
You smiled and your reply came out in a chuckle "Hey Tails, whatcha doin'?"  
  
"Pickin' oranges fer' Rotor, he told me he'll need somethin' t'eat while he's workin'."  
  
"I don't think Rotor needs anything more to eat." You said with a smile.  
  
"That's funny Aunt Sally" he said with a giggle.  
  
"Why can't you just fly up there Tails?"  
  
"My tails get caught in the branches."  
  
"Here, I'll help you."  
  
The two of you picked oranges together, laughing all the way. This was the same little fox who has proven himself time after time to be a worthy warrior in the fight against me.  
  
"Aunt Sally?"  
  
Pick  
  
"Yes?"  
  
Drop  
  
"I had a bad dream last night"  
  
catch  
  
"You did?"  
  
Put in basket  
  
"Ya, it was really scary"  
  
pick  
  
"What did you dream about?"  
  
Drop  
  
"A monster"  
  
catch  
  
"What kind of monster?"  
  
Put in basket  
  
"A big one, so big I could only see it's face"  
  
pick  
  
"Hmm."  
  
Drop  
  
"It had no mouth and it's face was completely red except for a blue forehead."  
  
Put in basket  
  
"Okay..."  
  
Pick  
  
"You were in the dream."  
  
Drop  
  
"I was in the dream?"  
  
Catch  
  
"Ya, you were running from it with me. I turned around a wall made of glass and I could still see you running and uh..."  
  
Put in basket  
  
"Yes, go on"   
  
pause  
  
"And then the blue part of it's head disappeared and it sucked you into it's forehead and I woke"  
sit down on stool  
  
"Wow, Tails that sounds scary."  
  
"Ya, it was. I got up and I wanted to sleep with you but you weren't in your hut."  
  
The kissing, the groping, the fondling. How could he ever know. You at first thought how horrible it'd be if little Miles knew about yours and Bunny's relationship.  
  
"When I woke up, I saw you 'n Bunny were holding hands like she was your girlfriend. You even hugged her."  
  
What do you tell the kid who has looked up to you for so long? What was your great response to hide the truth from this child staring up at you sitting on the stool? What did you tell him?  
  
"Well, Tails, your Aunt Sally, it seems, is a lesbian."  
  
The blatant, and corruptive truth.  
  
"Do you know what a lesbian is Tails?"  
  
"No, wuzza lebian?"  
  
"Well, Tails your mommy and daddy loved you very much before they were robotocized. Well, your mommy was a girl and your daddy was a boy."  
  
"Ya, I knew that but wassa lebian?"  
"Well, lesbians love each other very much too, but lesbians are both girls."  
  
"Ew... But I thought you liked Sonic though."  
  
"Yes, well... I still, kind of, do."  
  
"But Sonic's a boy!!" This was gonna be tough.  
  
"Hmm... Well then maybe I'm bisexual, I don't know." You could hear some other villagers approaching from behind,  
  
"What's biseshual?" What would they think if they saw you perverting a small boy? Think of the mark on your credibility.  
  
"You're a smart kid, figure it out." You hopped off the stool and hurried out of the orchards, stopping only to give Miles a goodbye, and the villagers coming in a good day.  
  
You, once again, felt dirty. Once again felt shameful. Once again felt perverse, but thus is the world and at least you told him the truth.  
  
As you walked through the forest you head the machine gun sound of Sonic running down the path next to you and you thought of Miles' words.  
  
But i tHouGht yoU liKed Sonic thoUgh.  
  
As he got even closer, you began to run yourself, and tried to remember the flashes of images of him from the previous night...  
  
*Sonic doing something and stuff*  
  
... with no avail  
  
You had picked up quite a bit of speed and the wind began to whistle in your ears. The wind blowing your hair back. By the time Sonic crossed your path you had picked up enough speed to almost be neck and neck.  
  
You hit a tree and passed right through it.  
  
You had picked up some more speed and the two of you were neck and neck. A brick wall popped up in front of you and the two of you rolled up into a ball. You were a little bit ahead by now so you smashed through it with ease. Sonic was now at your heals and lost a lot more speed when the two of you hit the loop-da-loop. When a buzz bomber showed up on the coarse showed up, you were quick to flip into it and destroy it, freeing the animal inside. You jumped on springs, and avoided spikes all while Sonic tried to keep up.  
  
Finally you were equals.  
  
Finally you could work out.  
  
Finally you could relate.  
  
You saw the finish line. A stationary sign with a checkered design. You rolled into it at such speeds that it spun around and revealed the other side which had your face on it, with just enough room on it to show you giving a victory sign with your index and middle finger.  
  
Everyone began to cheer for you.  
  
Sally  
  
SALLY!  
  
SALLY!?  
  
'SALLY!?'  
  
"SALLY!!?" You looked up at Sonic standing over you.  
  
"Sally? Man, I'm glad you're okay!"  
  
You gave him a coy smile and sang "I beat you-oo"  
  
"Uh..." He helped you onto your feet to show you the tree right in front of you.  
  
"Well, actually, you ran right into that tree."  
  
It was the tree that you passed right through earlier, except with a big blood stain in the middle of it.  
  
"It's a good thing I was passing by when ya did it huh?"  
  
You tasted the blood leaking from your nose into your mouth.  
  
It was never real.  
  
You could never be equals.  
  
You gave up on him while you took one last look at him before you passed out. 


	3. Understanding

All characters are copywrite Sega, and other media companies responsible for the international Sonic franchises (including DiC and Archie). This applies to all 'Glint' stories.   
  
Story is by: M.C. Griffin (unless otherwise stated... I guess.)  
*********************************  
  
You hurt.  
  
You bled.  
  
You cried. Silently.  
  
Sonic was nice enough to help you to the medic. His hand on your back. Your arm on his shoulder. There was no warm smile. No eye contact. No sweet nothings. Just frustration.  
  
Frustrated that you kept passing out.  
  
Frustrated that you were delusional.  
  
Frustrated that you ran into a fucking tree.  
  
You could tell he wanted to ask what was wrong with you. It's funny how fast sympathy turned into disgust. This wasn't like him, but then, it wasn't like you to go running into trees.  
  
You tried to look into Sonic's eyes, searching for some kind of reassurance. Hoping he didn't think you were a total dingbat. Instead you saw the side of his face, strait forward. Your eyelids became heavy. You drifted, murmuring something as you went that you can't even remember.  
  
Your eyes widened again. You stared up at a straw ceiling, dimly lit. As your eyes came into focus you could only see blurry shades of hot reds and cool blues. You realized it was Bunny's room.  
  
"Bunny?" You sat up in the straw bed.  
  
"'Fraid not"A masculine voice. The voice of the doctor.  
  
Your eyes focused. You were in the crude, primitive hospital. With its herbal remedies and carved tools, save some that were taken from my city.  
  
Red and blue.  
  
"I figure this was a work of carma."  
  
"What?" you choked  
  
"Not everyone can say they inspired suicide."  
  
"How did...?"  
  
"I know? I could tell..." he picked up an ice pack lying on one of the several shelves. "You learn how to tell these things after a while." He continued "This wasn't a cry for help. This was suicide. Sad, and desperate."  
  
The doctor's incite was amazing. "I didn't mean to" you said. "It was his own choice. This was years of pent up frustration... however desperate, he made the wrong decision."  
  
The doctor lifted your head to lay the ice pack under it. You felt a sting. You didn't even realize how hard you had hit your when you fell. "Were you mad at him?"  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For attempting suicide."  
  
"No, more disappointed in him."  
  
"Hmm..."  
  
"He never accomplishes anything. He could've at least killed himself right." What happened to you? You were always so sweet.  
  
"That's a very interesting perspective."  
  
"Hmm..." You mimicked his sarcastic sound.  
  
He dressed the wound on your head and bandaged the bridge of your nose. "The good news is, your nose isn't broken, the skin was just torn. However, if it starts to bleed from your nasal passage come and see me and I'll tell you what's wrong."  
  
"Could you help it if there was bleeding?"  
  
He looked around at the primitive tools and red herbs wrapped in tiny rope. "No."  
  
You let out a sigh.  
  
"Look, just don't take off the bandages, and keep your weight off the back of your head."  
  
"Anything for the pain?"  
  
He smiled. "What does this look like, a hospital? Goodbye princess"  
  
Why did they always have to call you that?  
  
You went to bed.  
  
You walked right by Sonic and went to bed.  
  
You walked right by Miles and went to bed.  
  
You walked right by Antoine and went to bed.  
  
You walked right by Antoine's wrist and went to bed.  
  
You walked right by every concerned little prick that came between you and your bed. Sleep could be your escape. Your escape from guilt. Your escape from Sonic. Your escape from Antoine. Your escape from frustration. Your escape from attempted suicides. Your escape from curious children. Your escape from picking oranges. Your escape from other's nightmares. Your escape from imaginary races. Your escape from bleeding head wounds. Your escape from torn noses. Your escape from sarcastic doctors.  
  
You walked right by Dulcey and went to bed.  
  
You walked right by Rosy and went to bed.  
  
You walked right by every other person you never talked to anymore. Everything that would mean nothing to you until sleeping came off the priority list.  
  
You walked right by... Where was she?  
  
Bunny.  
  
You sat up from your pillow with a start. It was dark. Cold. You put your hand to your head to wipe it of the cold sweat running all over your body.  
  
There was something missing.  
  
You looked outside. The silence was due to the fact that it was night. No commotion. No noise. Just the natural silence of the surrounding nature. You walked out of your hut, sat down in your doorway, and looked up to the moon, peaking out of the tree tops.  
  
I sometimes wish I could've lived in your world. So natural. So free. With such potential to be silent. Large trees. Placid lakes. Wild life. Natural. Healthy. But your world wasn't free. I was free. I was the ruler of beautiful slaves, and you and your people were just renegade potentials. Destined for my legacy, but so stubborn.  
  
The full moon, large and blue, lit the forest with a fair luminescence. You walked the path to the lake. The same path you walked the day before. Lush. Green. Wet.  
  
The peace you found in the village was nothing compared to the peace you found lying blissfully on the dock of the lake. Until...  
  
It was so typical. The bandages began to itch from the moisture in the air. Nothing could ever be perfect. No, then we'd have to die. With perfection what more would there be to live for?  
  
You began to think of what you wanted.  
  
You wanted to be Sonic's equal. You wanted Bunny. You wanted to give up on taking back Mobotropolis. You wanted the safety of your friends. You wanted happiness...  
  
Happiness.  
  
Not happiness for one aspect of your life, but all of it. Did anyone ever have that.  
  
What did you have? Bunny. At least there was that.  
  
The itching started to become unbearable. You got up to leave when you heard a distant hum.  
  
It was coming from the village. The source emitted a glorious golden glow. You ran off the path from the lake into the tamed forest, making sure not to hit a tree in the dark.  
  
The well. Sonic's well.  
  
A ring was forming and no one was there to catch it. You didn't know if you'd make it or not, but you kept running anyway.  
  
These rings that would emerge from the well had the strange ability to enable Sonic to engage great speeds. If they worked for him, then why not you?  
  
You were ten feet away when the ring shot up into the air. You jumped with all your momentum and landed on the brick laden edge of the well. You desperately reached your hand out.  
  
It was like poetry. You had attained the ring with such rhythm, and grace it was no wonder you were a freedom fighter and not just a royal figure head for the resistance.  
  
You walked with an air of contempt. You were finally in a good mood again. You looked at the glowing gold object in your hand and suddenly felt giddy, like a little kid. The ring was a symbol of what you couldn't have. You entered your hut and stuffed it in your sack after taking one more glorious look at the wonderful object.  
  
You slept like a rock.  
  
You woke up in the shiny morning to the refreshing sight of Bunny in your door. When she saw you awake she ran and jumped into your bed. For a moment you were afraid the frail wooden bed would break but then you were just happy she was there.  
  
"How ya doin'?" she asked in a cheerful, silly voice made all the sillier with her southern accent.  
  
"Fine... I'm doing fine. I didn't see you last night."  
  
She lightly felt the bandage on your nose. She looked away, realizing how you might've felt when she didn't come to see you outside the hospital. "I... I'm sorry I wasn't there, I was working on the plan. What happened?"  
  
"I ran into a tree. But that's not important!" you added quickly. "What's important is how happy I am that you are here to see me."  
  
"Actually... I wanted to see if you could filter me."  
  
"What about Rotor?"  
  
"I left him in the strategy room last night and he worked without me until he fell asleep. I found him in there sleeping on our work. Besides... it could be an intimate experience for us."  
  
You smiled "You know I love those."  
  
She pecked you on the lips and the two of you stepped into the outhouse outside your hut.  
  
Because her lower parts were robotic, Bunny had to be filtered every week. You see, my robots are designed to use up every nutrient of food they ingest. This is why there are chilly dog machines in my city. That, and to trap the hedgehog. Anyway, because there is no waste disposal system, after everyone escaped me, Bunny began to suffer from bodily waste poisoning. There were very few adult survivors and an even smaller fraction were doctors. Fortunately, Rotors now dead mentor, a large wombat by the name of Ido was ready with his tools. He worked with the doctors to build a hatch just below Bunny's belly that would capture the waste that her natural half would produce. She would need help though, since the release valve was so deep beneath the surface of her underbelly.  
  
Needless to say, it smelled like shit. In spite of the smell though, you were flattered that the girl you loved wanted you to do something like this for her.  
  
"How is the plan going anyway?" You risked the headache that this subject would bring for the sake of conversation.  
  
"Fine... We think we might be able to bring the doctor down indefinitely this time. Rotor did a lot of research for this one."  
  
"So... give me a heads up. What does this mission entitle?"  
  
"That would ruin the surprise. The only thing I can tell you for sure is that it will mostly run on Sonic"  
  
"No surprise there." you said, with a bit of distaste.  
  
"Well, he is the most able member of the group."  
  
You hated hearing that part. Why did he have to be so powerful? Why did he have to be so important? Why wasn't he the fucking leader?  
  
A combination of your distaste for Sonic's greatness and the smell of shit and piss made you feel sick. You stood up and brushed yourself off. It made you feel a bit dizzy. Your head was still light from the previous day's wound.  
  
"Sally?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"You feelin' alright hon'?"  
  
"Ya, let's get you cleaned up."  
  
The two of you went down to the lake hand in hand. You were holding Bunny's real hand now. Real, as if the other was imaginary. They were both real, this was the hand of bone, meat, skin and fur. The imperfect hand. The hand that would decay. The hand that would tear. If this hand was cut off, it couldn't be put back together. If this hand was hurt she would feel pain. If she stuck some scissors through this wrist she'd bleed to death unless someone brought her to a pessimistic doctor.  
  
You shuddered. You grabbed her by the waist and pulled her toward you as the two of you walked the dewy path. She gave you a cute smile and shifted to your other side. What was she doing?  
  
You felt her cold metal hand on your ass as she lifted you swiftly into the air and onto her shoulder. You gave a little giggle.  
  
This was fun. This was happiness. Nothing ever felt this good before. Nothing ever inspired such warmth and cold at the same time.  
  
You were looking at the green path from a new perspective now. The first person you thought of was me. Was that how tall I was? Was that what the world looked like to me?  
  
You arrived at the lake. Sonic was there fishing with Miles sitting and talking with him.  
  
Two people you didn't want to see.  
  
Miles' questions.  
  
Sonic's superiority.  
  
They both looked. Sonic offered his usual, casual wave with his usual fond smile. Miles looked as if trying to remember what you told him the other day, then he waved. Your pretty sure he said hi but you couldn't hear.  
  
Bunny set you down and walked to the lake. She was still the most beautiful person you ever knew. Such a cute face. Such a sultry, curvy shape. Her fur was fair. Her metal was polished. She kept herself in spite of where we were. It wasn't vanity, she wasn't vane. There wasn't vanity in Knothole. Mobotropolis had flashy clothes and makeup, not Knothole. Bunny had pried. She was proud of her looks. That's why she kept herself clean and shiny, as oppose to primmed and painted over.  
  
Sonic noticed your admiration. He gave Miles a motion to the path with his head.  
  
You watched as Miles walked slowly by you and down the path.  
  
"Bye Sonic, bye Bunny!!" he hollered.  
  
"Bye Aunt Sally." he gave you a big hug. It seemed to make up for yesterday but you knew it couldn't stop your guilt.  
  
You sat by Sonic who put up his pole.  
  
"What, aren't you going to fish anymore?"  
  
He motioned at Bunny only just then diving in the water. "Hygiene before hunger I guess."  
  
"Oh shit... I'm sorry."  
  
"No, it's okay. I've got enough food for a while anyway."  
  
"No, no I..." you looked over at Bunny bathing herself, then back at Sonic. "I should've thought."  
  
"Look, I said it's okay alright... I've been worried about you lately Sal."  
  
You looked back up at him, a concerned look on your face "Why?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"C'mon, tell me."  
  
"Well... first you stay in your room for six hours"  
  
*Sit baCk, rElax, and plaY wIth yoUrSelf.*  
  
"I see you here after that, you didn't even come over and talk to me."  
  
*SomethiNg tHat diRty cOuldn't liVe amonGst alL tHis surRounDing bEauty*  
  
"Then, I hear you cuss out Antoine and throw out his plan."  
  
*No yOu liSten yoU ltTle sHit I've liVed my entiRe lifE wIth yoUr bitcHing and whinIng*  
  
"I'm out in the library, I only just saw Bunny coming from where he was, and I hear he stabbed his wrist!"  
  
*RoboTicizAtion... Zat or dEath, RobotNik leFt no otheR oPtions*  
  
"Next time I see you... you... you run into a fucking tree!!"  
  
*FinaLly yOu weRe eQuals.*  
  
"I take you to the hospital, and you show absolutely no gratitude for me, or any of the others who came to see you!"  
  
*Sleep couLd be youR eScape*  
  
"Plus, someone told me this morning that they saw you running around the village in the middle of the night when you should've been recuperating."  
  
*The riNg wAs a sYmbol of whAt yoU cOuldn't haVe*  
  
You felt like Sonic put his hand through your chest. With every other word your heart skipped a beat. Quick memories of things that he mentioned and things he didn't raced through you. Memories. Memories of memories. Images. Images of images.  
  
You turned away and saw Bunny sitting on the sandy lakeside, watching the two of you.  
  
"I... I don't know what to tell you. You're right I..."  
  
"Do you know what Tails told me today?"  
  
Oh no.  
  
"Wait.."  
  
"Y'know what he told me? He told me you said you were a lesbian!!"  
  
*The blAtant, and coRruptIve truTh*  
  
Bunny looked up at you, then threw her face into her hands and massaged the bridge of her nose. You looked back up at Sonic to once again see the side of his face. His lips were tight. You could feel tears begin to run down your face. You tried not to sob.  
  
"Do you know how hard it is to explain the idea of homosexuality to a twelve year old raised in nature."  
  
The poor kid knew nothing of sex, but violence was second nature.  
  
Sonic looked into your leaking eyes. You thought of him as a child, breaking open Bunny's tube. Ruining her chances for perfection. Ruining your chances for perfection. You became aware of your hand. You looked away, trying to hold in a whale that could scare the birds out of their trees.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me Sal? You and me,... we've been together since the beginning,... since before any of this shit. Why wasn't I the first to know?"  
  
You grimaced with the pain of his words. He was right. He realized how harsh he was being to you.  
  
"I'm sorry, I know this is a very emotional thing for you." he held you in his thin, yet firm arms. You held your head under his chin.  
  
You let it all out.  
  
You balled, you sobbed, you blubbered, you whaled. It felt so good. It felt good to feel like someone understood you even slightly. You became silent. Peaceful. Like the lake. You sat up and looked at it. The sun reflecting off its surface through the trees.  
  
"Besides..." he gave a reassuring smile. "It's kind of cool to know that we have a common interest."  
  
The two of you looked at Bunny who was smiling now. Glad to see that there were no harsh feelings between the two of you.  
  
"Sonic?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Do you think... How did you get the way you are?"  
  
"No one knows."  
  
"Oh,..."  
  
You remembered his staggering superiority to everything and anything you could ever be.  
  
"Go and be with Bunny. She needs your words more than you need mine."  
  
"Thank you." You wiped your face of the tears and stood up. You walked a few steps away from Sonic who was still staring at the lake. You turned around.  
  
"Sonic?"  
  
"Ya?"  
  
"Did you ever... um... feel anything for...?"  
  
"Don't worry about me Sal, go see the person you love. With lives like ours, there is no time for doubt."  
  
Absolute truth. You hugged Bunny when you saw her. Still wet. You made sure your bandages didn't get wet as you felt the metal of Bunny's arm, slick with water.  
  
You kissed her lips even though Sonic was still on the dock.  
  
Oh well, he seemed to be okay with the whole idea.  
  
You began to dry Bunny off with the towels Rosy made so long ago. You couldn't believe you still had them. Some of the few relics from before that beautiful day of destruction. Before you were delivered from me. Before your love became a hybrid of fur and metal.  
  
*You tOld heR it woUld be oKay. That it waS a goOd tHing. That the machinE wOuld mAke her beTter. More eFficient. She woulD be hAppier. She wOuld be comPlete. She wouLd be pErfect.*  
  
"Bunny?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Do you remember when Mobotropolis was invaded?"  
  
"Of coarse."  
  
"Um... Do you remember the line to the roboticizer?"  
  
"Vaguely? Why?"  
  
"Do you remember... um... do you remember..." It was hard to ask her about that day.  
  
"What? Do I remember what?"  
  
You let it out. "Do you remember what I said when it was your turn?"  
  
"No, but then, I don't think I can remember much of anything from that point."  
  
"Good"  
***************************  
  
This is still not the end  
Reviews are appreciated 


	4. Guilt

All characters are copywrite Sega, and other media companies responsible for the international Sonic franchises (including DiC and Archie). This applies to all 'Glint' stories.   
  
Story is by: M.C. Griffin (unless otherwise stated... I guess.)  
*********************************  
  
You walked the vast fields beyond the limits of Knothole village. Your home. Your haven. You took one look back at the forest. You were unattended. You clasped firmly on the straps that came over your shoulders. You had everything you needed in your pack.  
  
Why were you leaving?  
  
You came to the vast, dry, valley. The wounds you acquired when you hit the tree had long since healed. You and Bunny were still doing fine, and the entire village, more or less, had come to realize your relationship but they still never talked about it. You could stick your tongue down her throat right in front of their children and they'd probably just nod their heads and smile.  
  
What were you doing?  
  
You reached the dark desert looking onto the huge cliff that lead straight down. You'll never know how Miles would grow with his new knowledge of his good aunt. Antoine never did try and kill himself again. Sonic... you weren't sure how you felt about Sonic. The only thing you know is that for the first time ever, the two of you may truly be friends as oppose to potential lovers.  
  
Where were you going?  
  
You looked further ahead of yourself. Past the cliff. Past the darkness. Past the ominous black clouds, where it always seemed like night.  
  
My city.  
  
Robotropolis.  
  
You looked around you at the miles and miles of open desert.  
  
You reached back into your back pack. If you died this day, they'd be telling your dead body 'I told you so'. You felt it with your hand for a moment. Cold. Like Bunny.  
  
You pulled it out and it shown brightly in the hot sun.  
  
A power ring.  
  
All was silent. Nothing around for miles. Aside from a hot wind, no activity.  
  
You held the ring in the air.  
  
You put it down again.  
  
What if they were right? What if Sonic was the only one who could do this? What if you exploded? What if you melted? What if you disintegrated? What if you reached speeds that no other living creature than the hedgehog could ever dream of and you reached a whole new, life changing level of enlightenment?  
  
Aye, there's the rub.  
  
You held the ring in the air. You squeezed it tightly and pumped every muscle in your body.  
  
You heard a loud, nondescript boom sound as a feeling resembling that of an electric shock went through your body. Every muscle tightened. It was so intense. It was so... uncomfortable. Your muscles were constricting so much it felt like your face was going to spit your eyes out. Tighter. Tighter.  
  
Finally, it dawned on you. RUN STUPID!!!  
  
You ran. It felt like taking a shit that had been waiting a little too long for departure, if you know what I mean.  
  
These were speeds that you couldn't even conceive. The surrounding desert passed before you so quickly you could barely make out what where you were going, besides a straight path. You decided to turn, and you did. Amazing. You decided to pivot in the other direction, and aside from some sliding, you did it with ease, without losing any speed. You tried to jump. Now that was amazing. The height, the distance, the hang time. You hit the ground running.  
  
Now you knew what it was to be him.  
  
That machine gun sound of your feet hitting the ground was like music to your ears. You looked be hind you to see two streams of dust, twice your height, flying into the sky in your wake.  
  
Now you were closer to being his equal.  
  
You began to slow down. You were under your own power now, still running, trying to stop yourself in spite of the momentum. You finally, with all your strength, planted your feet down. When you finally stopped, you fell face forward from the still present momentum.  
  
You looked about you. You had run, what must've been a mile, in a minute. Dust was falling to the ground all around you, and your deep footprints were everywhere. You stood on your feet and checked yourself for balance as you stumbled a bit. You were dizzy and disoriented. You looked at the ring. It had become brown and brittle like the big pretzels they used to have back at Mobotropolis.  
  
You looked around. In spite of the fact that no one else was there, you gave a triumphant holler.  
  
"Yes"  
  
You didn't know how, you didn't know why, but somehow you used a power ring. In spite of all the really good reasons why you shouldn't have been able to use a power ring, you used a power ring.  
  
It didn't make sense, but it was good.  
  
You walked back down the valley feeling more confidence than ever. Anything bothering you before now seemed, for the moment, stupid and petty.  
  
You found there was now more bounce in your step. You just had the greatest workout of your life without the physical exertion that would normally take its tole. That was what Chuck's rings were for, so Sonic could be all that he could be. They were supposed to be coded to his DNA though. You concluded that the machine at the bottom of the well's DNA key system must have stopped working allowing the rings to be made at their default setting.  
  
You confirmed this when you pulled it out of the well and took a look at it.  
  
Thief.  
  
Rotor may have been the house technician but everyone knew that "Sal can fix anything." You remembered back to Sonic's patronizing tone when he told everyone that. He should have credited Rotor. Rotor always was the most humble of the group. Nothing could ever bring him down, it seemed.  
  
You thought about all of this as you took apart the ring generator.  
  
There it was.  
  
The DNA key system. Fried. Sizzling.  
  
Yes!  
  
Sonic's record. His genes. His helix. His DNA, was now no longer a gift. Aside from his speed, he was normal now. The power of the rings could belong to everyone.  
  
Everyone?  
  
No, bad idea. You needed to keep using them without Sonic knowing that they didn't only work for him anymore. If all the villagers started to dash around the village slamming into huts at high speeds than he would definitely have found out. After a long enough amount of time they would have to shut down the machine forever. No one can be trusted with the kind of responsibility that the rings brought. Obviously, not even you.  
  
As you put the generator back together you tried not to feel too guilty, but it was hard.  
  
Hard not to feel guilty about taking the ring.  
  
Hard not to feel guilty about leaving the village in secret.  
  
Hard not to feel guilty about using the 'forbidden' power ring.  
  
Hard not to feel guilty about taking the generator out of the well.  
  
Hard not to feel guilty about taking it apart to assess the damage.  
  
Hard not to feel guilty about hacking into its data base and changing Chuck's code, allowing the rings to work for both you and Sonic.  
  
Guilt. You've been feeling that a lot lately.  
  
You remembered Sonic's words out on the docks. You were corrupting yourself and it was right out in front of everybody. You had become something far different than what you were before. The princess you were would never go off with another girl. The princess you were would never drive an officer to suicide. The princess you knew would never tell a child of such corruptive ideas like homosexuality. The princess you knew could never be happy.  
  
That was it. Although you were in a good deal of bad situations, you were oddly pleased about it all. For the first time in your life you felt like you were being the leader you were supposed to be.  
  
Harsh.  
  
Cold.  
  
Like something familiar you could only identify as leadership.  
  
Corrupt.  
  
No. You weren't all bad. Were you? No. Bunny loved you for the good in you. Sonic accepted you because he knew you were still the same girl he grew up with. Miles tried to understand you because he knew you still loved him.  
  
What about Antoine?  
  
You were comfortable with Antoine's new distaste for you. He couldn't accept and that was his problem.  
  
Something you knew about Antoine, that really everyone knew but no one acknowledged, was that he was not a real general. His father was. He was a pretender. A fake. Parading around in his father's cum stained uniform.   
  
Proud. From a proud city.  
  
Noble. From a noble city.  
  
Cum stained. From a cum stained city. Not literally of coarse, before anyone misunderstands.  
  
Even I knew of Antoine and his valiant father. He was a great fighter, but could never attain my greatness. He crumbled under my shadow, as they all did.  
  
Small. Weak. No one could ever beat me. Not even the hedgehog.  
  
I will give Antoine's father credit though. He fought more valiantly than any warrior I've seen in a long, long time. He broke like anyone else though.  
  
The day I graced Mobotropolis, Antoine's father was one of the first to fight, and last to fall. Little Antoine saw his father, battered and broken, lying and bleeding. His father pleaded Antoine to get help, to find a medic. Antoine just stared.  
  
As blood started pooling around his father, still begging his son for help, Antoine pulled off his father's jacket and put it on himself. As his father desperately asked his son what he was doing, Antoine picked up his oil soaked sword.  
  
He left his father defenseless and dying as he walked off. The jacket around his ankles. The sword dragging on the ground behind him. He betrayed his father at age six.  
  
This, only I and Antoine's father know about. And he isn't telling anybody.  
  
When I walked through the battle torn city, I saw him lying there. He must've crawled great distances to where I found him. The blood trail was very long. I was right on time, he had found what he was looking for. He grabbed a gun from one of my fallen warriors, and rolled onto his back pointing it at his own head. I just watched.  
  
It had been twenty minutes and he still hadn't pulled the trigger. Sweat and blood poured from his body as he contemplated the whole idea. He looked in my direction. He knew who I was, of coarse. We worked with each other. We acted as friends.   
  
He pointed the gun at me.  
  
"You! You are zis country's enemy now! And you of all people know what 'appens to our enemies!!"  
  
"Weren't you in the middle of doing something?" I smiled at him.  
  
He clenched the gun as if holding it tighter would help him bring up the nerve. But he couldn't pull the trigger. He couldn't have ever shot me. He knew I was better, invincible, even though he could've killed me there.  
  
In zoos, giraffes are kept in their boundaries by a deep ditch dug around them. When they are born, they can't step over the ditch with their enfant legs. They grow up fearing this ditch as a pit of death. The line they can never cross. When they grow older, their legs grow longer. Long enough to step over the ditch, but they don't. Fear is permanent.  
  
I was that ditch. Antoine's father didn't have the neural capacity to kill me.  
  
To step over the ditch.  
  
He looked away as tears rolled down his eyes.  
  
He stuck the gun in his mouth this time.  
  
He pulled the trigger.  
  
Nothing.  
  
The gun wasn't loaded.  
  
As I pulled him out of his pool of blood, sweat and tears all I could hear over the sound of gunfire and explosions was his whimpering.  
  
Antoine's whimper.  
  
I found one of my POW carts that we used to escort people to the roboticizer. I threw him in the cage of wounded or unconscious prisoners. He looked up to see the familiar dark blue of his jacket.  
  
The last thing Antoine's father ever knew of his son was the jacket that he was wearing.  
  
As he attempted to pry it off of his unconscious son he passed out.  
  
No good bye.  
  
No I love you.  
  
Now Antoine's father is of a greater nation, with a greater army. But he is no general. He shovels coal in one of my many mines, but he'll never know the difference.  
  
Antoine never told anyone of that day, but every so often, while he would strut around the village so proud of himself, he'd look down on himself and see the blue jacket. The blue, stained jacket. No good memories could ever come with the jacket's pride, but he wore it proudly still.  
  
No one but I seem to have any fond memories of that day. Well, you did too, even though you could never admit it to the ones you love.  
  
You tread quietly through the village, darkened by night, to the well. If anyone were to come out of their hut in time to see you what could you possibly tell them? You approached the well and dropped the generator in.  
  
SPLASH  
  
You were startled. 'Idiot!' you thought to yourself, 'What was I thinking!?'  
  
You realized no one had heard it. And if they did, why would they care?  
  
You sat down at the base of the well and looked up to the starry sky. It was a half moon that night. The luminescent symbol of night floated in the sky over the tree tops. Symbols. You were a symbol. A symbol is something which represents something out of a simple image. To every other freedom fighter you symbolized one of two things at all times. Half the time you symbolized leadership and royalty. The only royalty these people's world had left. The rest of the time you were 'the girl'. The only female freedom fighter. Oh sure, Bunny was a girl but she already represented every robot out there.  
  
You were the jeweled crown.  
  
You were the person on the lady's restroom.  
  
You were the royal shield.  
  
You were O+.  
  
What could come of this existence? Certainly nothing good. Antoine had said it himself, death or roboticization, I had left no other options.  
  
Unless...  
  
Why fight? Why not just leave the village? Why not just move on and stop trying to reclaim your stupid city? It would be a lot better than dying.  
  
You pondered these concepts with your back to the hard, brick well.  
  
"Okay, here's the plan."  
  
You were in the strategy room, where Rotor showed you various maps and strategy books. It was in this room that Antoine tried to end himself after you got angry with him once. You looked up from the map drawn on crude, ripped parchment to the walrus. He met your eyes with his usual fond smile.  
  
"Did you ever wonder why Robotnik stopped trying to route us out?"  
  
Because ratings were dropping and we needed a new gimmick?  
  
"Never crossed my mind, but you're right, he hasn't been attacking much. Why?"  
  
"He's found somewhere better."  
  
"Better?"  
  
"Better."  
  
"Better like how?"  
  
"Resources, location, you name it."  
  
"Hmm..."  
  
"Not to mention, the people there aren't blowing stuff up in his city."  
  
"How do we know all this?"  
  
"Well..."  
  
You heard the soft sound of the vine door being spread open. Bunny stepped in.  
  
"I'll let Bunny explain it."  
  
You looked at Bunny, awaiting her response.  
  
"Well, first of all, the platoon of 'bots located on the outskirts of the great forest is missing."  
  
"Ya, I could have told you that." you replied, "I still don't know how you know Robotnik is gone."  
  
"Well, Princess," Rotor chimed in, "the point isn't that he has gone, but that he seems to not even care about us anymore."  
  
"Okay..."  
  
Bunny spoke up. "Also, our radio interceptor, it's how we get the very few leads we ever get. Sometimes we can pick up orders from Robotnik to his different SWAT Bots."  
  
Rotor cut in. "Lately, orders haven't been coming from Robotnik at all, they've been coming from Snively."  
  
Bunny spoke again. "Also, Lupe sent a message to us that several air crafts had flown over, and beyond their territory. I know you know all of this already, hon. We are only now putting it all together."  
  
Rotor took his turn. "If you want, we can head down to the science hut. I've got some readings in, showing a decrees of radio activity in Robotropolis by half. This all but proofs that Robotnik has mobilized his troops and went some place else, leaving the rest of his 'bots under Snively's control."  
  
You began to become frustrated with their tag-team explanation. "So, I still don't know what the plan is."  
  
"Okay. Check this out." Rotor began to tell you the plan.  
  
It had something to do about Snively still having to tend to other things in my absence, in spite of his new responsibilities. He said something about waiting for Snively to tend to the output stats in the SWAT Bot factory. There was mention of having Sonic take out the guards guarding the control room in Snively's absence, and Bunny rigging their bodies to work like bombs like Rotor showed her. Where it got kind of interesting was when it got to the whole, detonating them in the control room thus negating my control on my own city, bit.  
  
You liked the way that last one sounded. Ending this war would be nice, and that seemed like a bit more of a permanent solution. But then you had another idea.  
  
"Any questions Princess?" Rotor asked. "Suggestions?"  
  
"Ya, just one. What if we didn't, and took his moving onto new territory and leaving us alone as his surrender. Then we can live the rest of our lives in peace and never have to worry about him, his army, that city, or our pasts ever again? What do you think? Would that work?"  
  
Rotor stared at you for a moment.  
  
Bunny looked at you with the most concern that you've ever seen on her face before. She pressed her lips and raised her eyes to look at you in an expression you could only recognize as disappointed understanding.  
  
"No, I don't think it would..." Rotor started. "Are you feeling alright, Princess?"  
  
Bunny put her hand on Rotor's shoulder. "I'll see ya later sugar."  
  
Rotor looked confused, as Bunny led you out of the room. "Okay... I guess."  
  
The two of you sat down on a log sitting outside of the nearby eatery. The smell of roasted meat filled your nostrils as you sat down by Bunny, knowing exactly what she was going to say.  
  
"Sally, I'm worried about you." You practically mouthed the words.  
  
"Bunny, I know how I've been acting, and..." Not even you could make sense out of your actions. You finally arranged some words that you thought could do a good enough job at explaining your feelings. "Lately, it seems like all the things we've been fighting for aren't worth anything, and that most of our problems we make by fighting."  
  
Bunny let your head rest on her shoulder. "But at the same time, I still want to be part of the resistance."  
  
"Then, what was with your suggestion?"  
  
"Just a suggestion. Maybe I liked the idea of giving up on this whole stupid thing. Letting our past go."  
  
"But you do feel that way?"  
  
"At first it sounds good. No more hurt. No more deaths. No more roboticization. But then... where would we be without the resistance?"  
  
"Hm... What do you mean by that?"  
  
"Well... what would be left for us to do?"  
  
"Ah, yes. But, if we still fought, we might win and then what would we do?"  
  
"Hey! What side of this discussion are you on? It sounds like your trying to defend what I said back there."  
  
"Well, I somewhat agreed."  
  
"But...?"  
  
"But nobody said Robotnik was going to leave us alone for good."  
  
She almost said it reassuringly. Like you should be happy that he comes back.  
  
Then, it dawned on you. The reason why you, and everyone else in the village insisted on fighting.  
  
This was the village of lost children. Teenagers and younger. Very few adults. An entire generation of orphans, abandoned and without that authority needed to raise a child. An entire village looking for that father figure to tell them no. But you, and everyone else had found a father figure. He would try to control you. He would try to teach you. You would disobey and he would try to punish you. But he never cared about you. You only disobeyed for his attention. You thought you wanted to inherit what he had so you all became little nuisances to get it. To inherit your father's fortune. But no, you were only destroying it. Destroying the inheritance that you claimed to be fighting for. You were campaigning for his attention, and now he had another bunch of little kids to tend to. He didn't want you anymore, but you all were still throwing your little tantrums to get his attention.  
  
You shuttered at this thought. You had been delving into your own mind a lot lately. You were learning to accept these thoughts of worldly understanding and self assessment.  
  
You looked into Bunny's eyes and thought about telling her your new father figure theory, but then realized that she would only worry about you more. Alternative thinking seemed to be out of place in this revolution.  
  
You leaned in for a kiss. Bunny smiled on contact of your lips as she pulled you in. You parted and got up to leave with her to wherever.  
  
'No more outbursts' You thought. 'Keep those opinions to yourself and you won't hurt anybody's feelings.'  
  
You saw Antoine trying not to look at the two of you holding hands from across the path.  
  
'Stop trying to be the leader that you want to be. Be the leader they want you to be'  
  
As you were led by Bunny further to wherever, you could hear a sonic boom blast from the other side of town.  
  
'Start trying to be the hero that he is, instead of the figurehead that you are' 


	5. Equal

All characters are copywrite Sega, and other media companies responsible for the  
international Sonic franchises (including DiC and Archie). This applies to all 'Glint' stories.   
  
Story is by: M.C. Griffin (unless otherwise stated... I guess.)  
*********************************  
  
Conveyer belts.  
  
Assembly lines.  
  
Computer screens.  
  
Sewing machines.  
  
What was this? You walked this infernal world looking about for the source of all this  
industry.  
  
Electronic engineers.  
  
Focus groups  
  
Advertising agents.  
  
Corporate leaders.  
  
They were all focusing on one thing. You couldn't tell what it was.  
  
Programmers.  
  
Animators.  
  
Writers.  
  
Fans.  
  
You finally realized. Blue plush dolls. Blue video games. Blue T.V. shows. Blue comic  
books. Blue hedgehog.  
  
It was Sonic. This world seemed to live and breathe him. Eat and shit him. Fuck and birth  
him. Die for his sins, and be reborn for his glory.  
  
Children loved him, adults created him. He was digital, plastic, soft, and flat all at once.  
  
Sometimes he spoke in words, but always in different voices. Sometimes he was black and  
sometimes he was white. Sometimes his voice was high and shrill and sometimes his voice  
could be read on paper. Sometimes he was written of by men in suits with business cards  
and shiny shoes. Sometimes he was written of by teenagers after school when there was  
nothing else to do.  
  
This new world was a look into other worlds. You looked into every one of them with the  
most intrigue. You were disappointed to find that you weren't in as many of them as you  
could hope.  
  
Sometimes Sonic had siblings. His mother was a queen, and he played in a band.  
  
Sometimes Sonic was raised in nature, chasing me through world after world. He would  
be with Miles who could fly a plane. You saw him chase me to a floating island where he  
would encounter a red animal with a furious intent of stopping him.  
  
Sometimes his enemies were weak. A robotic chicken, and a drill themed robot would try  
with futile attempts to catch him. Miles was there but much younger. In this world, I was a  
fool. You only showed up at Christmas.  
  
Sometimes he would live in a city, protecting it from me. A smaller pink hedgehog pined  
for him. He fought with the red creature he fought against in the other world. He fought  
towering creatures made of water and powered by chaos; he fought a voluptuous bat  
powered by greed; he fought his own dark side powered by science.  
  
Sometimes his world would try to be all of these. Lives would twist in and out of one  
another. There were more freedom fighters. You had died once. Sonic had died twice.  
Everything was always still, and stories were monthly.  
  
Sometimes the Freedom Fighters were completely different, with names like Johnny  
Lightfoot and Porker Lewis. You were much smaller and weaker there and you wore a  
bow in your hair.  
  
You wanted this. You wanted this fame. You wanted stories to be told of your pretend  
life. You wanted legends to be scribed of your make believe existence. You wanted toys  
to be sold in your likeness. You wanted children to put themselves in your shoes in video  
games. You wanted "Princess Sally Fruit Rollups"   
  
You finally found your own world. It was Saturday and you watched yourself with a bowl  
of Sonic themed cereal on your lap.  
  
You shoveled a spoon full of Sonic heads into your mouth as you saw yourself throw a  
ring to the hedgehog and swing down on a cable. You remembered that somehow. This  
tale was called "The Doomsday Project."  
  
It was very entertaining but it hadn't happened yet. This was your future, not your past  
or present. Was anything really going in this direction? Would it really work out this way?  
Would I really die? Would you really become as good as him? If this was your future you  
would. You and the hedgehog would find these magical stone things called power stones.  
With those you could be equals. The more you watched the more you couldn't wait for  
this to happen, but the more you watched the more you realized it wasn't going to.  
  
This wasn't your world.  
  
It was another alternate.  
  
You kissed Sonic.  
  
Without guilt you kissed Sonic.  
  
You smiled.  
  
Impossible.  
  
You watched the kiss with the deepest stare as you spooned some more soggy Sonic  
heads into your mouth. What would Bunny think? This couldn't have been the real world.  
You couldn't betray her trust with a smile on your face.  
  
You looked down at the bowl to see a single Sonic head. Broken apart. Dissolving in the  
milk.  
  
The credits rolled.  
  
Jaleel White? Sonic's real name or what?  
  
Sonic Jaleel White  
Tails Bradly Pierce  
Rotor Cam Brainard  
Snively Charlie Alder  
Antoine Rob Paulson  
Dulcy Cree Summer  
Uncle Chuck William Windom  
Me Jim Cummings  
  
What was going on? Bunny her name came up.  
  
Christine Cavanaugh?  
  
Who the fuck ?  
  
Who the fuck is Cathie Soucie?  
  
It sure as shit wasn't you. Just someone posing as you. Your blood boiled. Your ears  
rang. Your head hurt. You rose from the ground as this plastic world shook with your  
fury. It was all fake. Everyone was an imposter. Everything was synthetic.  
  
"NONE OF THIS IS REAL!!!"  
  
You threw the bowel into the TV screen, breaking the glass, as this world rippled with the  
impact.  
  
You were surprised to find, instead of wires and plugs, milk pour out of the screen. It  
began to fill the room with the intensity of a fire hose. You screamed in anger as you were  
swept up as the room turned into a lake of milk.  
  
As you looked at your hand, you saw it's cheap, crunchy, carbohydrate form begin to  
become brittle and disintegrate in the milk.  
  
You woke up with the sound of your own screaming.  
  
You sat up in bed, sweat pouring down your body, dampening the sheets you sat on. All  
was dark. All was silent. It must have been very early because you could barely make out  
your hut's interior. You put your hand to your head.  
  
"You have a nightmare?"  
  
You felt Bunny's cold metal arm embrace your stomach. You looked down to see the  
peaceful smile on her face. Her eyes were closed, so serene.  
  
You slid all the way back into bed and returned her embrace. You were so close. This was  
heaven.  
  
Heaven after Hell.  
  
Her eyes slid open slowly. Her lips parted, accenting her quaint smile. You felt your own  
eyelids becoming heavy. It was as you started to descend back into sleep when you saw  
her say something. No sound, just the mouth moving.  
  
"I love you too." You replied.  
  
Sleep. Dreamless sleep. Thank God.  
  
Morning. Morning. Morning.  
  
How you hated Mornings.  
  
You found yourself lying face down in your pillow. Your sheets were half way off the bed  
and your arm was hanging off the naked, makeshift mattress. You looked up at the wall. It  
was definitely morning. A warm, skin irritating, nappy, war torn lock of hair fell into your  
face. You frustratingly batted it away from your eyes. You turned over and stared at the  
ceiling. Straw. Wood. Mud. So hot.  
  
"Maybe blowing up their air conditioning isn't such a horrible idea."  
  
You chuckled at yourself.  
  
You turned over to face your lover.  
  
Vacant. Damn.  
  
Where could she have been? She had spent the whole night with you. You got up to look  
out the window. There it was. The village hustled and bustled as usual. Some kids played  
soccer in front of your hut. Where was she? You looked around your hut. Everything was  
damp from the morning dew. Insolation wasn't too good and the forest climate didn't help  
one bit. You found a note.  
  
'Out getting mission essentials with Rotor. Tried to wake you. No dice. Hope you slept  
well.  
  
Love:  
-Bunny'  
  
You looked up at the ceiling again and a clump of hair fell into your face again. Your skin  
was less irritated so it didn't seem so warm but it still annoyed you. Your hair was always  
in your face.  
  
When you brushed it away you saw the hedgehog standing half way in the door. He gave  
you a smile. His brow lowered into a demented grin. The one he gave when up against a  
robot. The one he gave when ready for battle.  
  
He pulled a staff with cylindrical pads on both ends from behind his back.  
  
"'S'been a while since we last sparred. You up to it?"  
  
You stretched, raising your arms above your head. You gave a big yawn and let your arms  
rest atop your head.  
  
Sonic leaned smugly against your doorway, looking you up and down. Not checking you  
out. Sizing you up.  
  
"Sure." You said, returning his smug grin. "That is, if your up to it... or should I say,  
'me'."  
  
He gave that demented grin again. The one he gave when up against an obstacle. The one  
he gave before a fight he knew he could win.  
  
He tossed you a staff.  
  
"Well, c'mon then."  
  
"What? In the middle of the village?"  
  
"Ya. What? Since when are you worried about public opinion? Especially lately."  
  
You stared into his narrowed eyes. His tensed brow. His little smirk.  
  
You felt the same look creep upon your own face.  
  
"Come." You spun the staff from one hand to the next and held it beneath your armpit.  
You motioned for the hedgehog to advance with your other arm.  
  
Sonic sprinted toward you, into your hut, as you began your strike. In one fluid motion  
Sonic came a few feet from the path of your staff, and whirled around behind you in a  
corkscrew maneuver. You felt the impact from his padded staff careening into your back.  
You were sent off of your feet, your toes gliding a foot above the ground, and out your  
huts door. You landed, face down, in the middle of the children's soccer game.  
  
The ball rolled, stopping at your limp body.  
  
You turned onto your back in time to see Sonic diving down onto you, blocking the  
sunlight, staff first. You rolled back onto your shoulders, pulled your arms back and hand  
sprung your way to safety. Sonic landed in front of you, his staff making a large sound  
when it hit the ground. A cloud of dust rose from the impact.  
  
You quickly danced backward, you eyes fixed on the cloud of dust, awaiting the next  
approach. The dust parted as you heard the familiar sound of Sonic dashing. He sped  
toward you at great speeds, striking with ferocious intent. You blocked strike after strike  
until you were overcome by his speed and met with a lighter blow to the jaw. He hit you a  
second time across the cheek.  
  
A third strike came in low, but with a grunt you knocked it away. In a blur you sent your  
staff swinging in a semicircle up into Sonic's chin sending him souring into the air. He  
landed with a thud on the roof of a hut. You leaped into the air, drifting over Sonic's  
body. Before you could score a hit Sonic pushed off of the hut and spun backwards to the  
next hut's roof.  
  
  
Two villagers having a conversation below the two huts looked up just in time to see  
Sonic's figure darkened by the sun zoom from one's roof to the other's.  
  
Sonic held his staff in the defensive position on his roof. His smile was gone. His breathing  
was heavy. His chest heaved up and down in apparent exhaustion. The grin was still on  
your face.  
  
Words escaped harshly from Sonic's mouth. "How... did you... get... like this?"  
  
You cleared your throat and wiped the sweat from your damp brow. Your words too  
were rough on your throat in your panting. "Like... what?"  
  
Sonic closed his eyes and put his hand to his chest. "Your fighting like... almost like...  
almost like me."  
  
"I'm fighting like... you?"  
  
"Ya."  
  
"Or, am I... fighting better than you?"  
  
He roared a monster worthy cry and bounded toward you from his roof. Your eyes  
widened and your staff came back to your front as you bounded off of your roof. The two  
of you grazed each other half way between the two roofs. Splinters from the two staffs  
drifted to the ground.  
  
The two of you were once again on opposite roof tops. You could hear the two villagers  
frantically asking what was going on and that they were going to get the Freedom Fighters  
if it didn't cease.  
  
You leaped again. He leaped again. You met one another mid air this time. Staff to staff.  
As the two of you fell, Sonic drifted slightly away and above you. He brought his staff  
down onto your head as you touched the ground, sending your face into the muddy grass.  
  
You heard Sonic's feet hit the ground the instant after your face did. You waved your  
entire body and did a hand stand with the resulting momentum. You pushed off with one  
hand, kicking Sonic several times in the head by spinning your legs like a helicopter.  
  
You stopped your spin to look up at Sonic from your one handed stand. He was collapsed  
against the opposing hut, the wall was sinking from the impact and Sonic's weight. Sonic  
leaned forward, taking his balance off of the hut, as it sunk even more from the lack of  
support that he served.  
  
You sprung off of your hand and landed with your arms up in a defensive position,  
forgetting about the staff.  
  
Sonic threw his staff to the ground.  
  
A moment of silence.  
  
There was blood at your feet.  
  
There was blood on Sonic's lips.  
  
The silence was broken as he once again bellowed in rage. He sped towards you, stopping  
with a single punch to your chest. As you flew threw the other hut, seamlessly crashing  
through both walls and everything in between them, all you could hope was that your  
chest wouldn't cave in.  
  
Your chest hurt. Your breasts hurt. Your shoulders hurt. Your neck hurt.  
  
You coughed. A little bit of blood came up.  
  
You looked up to see the hole you made through the hut. The hut shook as if it was hit by  
a quake. It suddenly collapsed. Through the dust and splinters clouding around the  
wreckage you could see Sonic's figure standing with hands to sides. The hut behind him  
began to crumble.  
  
"OH MY GOD!!! MY HOUSE!!!" The two villagers seemed to say in unison.  
  
From the rubble, Sonic sprang into the air in a path towards you. You sprang backwards,  
attempting to at least score an escaping kick as you avoided his diving punch. The two of  
you hit air.  
  
When he landed he dashed at you, punching as you slid from your decent. You blocked his  
strike, then returned two more to his face, followed by a crescent kick sending him  
spiraling through the air and landing a few feet away from you.  
  
He hopped up with a high kick to your face, which you blocked with your own leg. You  
twisted your leg around Sonic's, trapping it. Sonic hopped on one foot, with his other  
trapped trying to gain his balance as he frantically beat at the side of your head, making  
your ears ring. You caught his hand on the fourth strike.  
  
There was a moment of uncertainty as you held Sonic's leg with your leg and his arm with  
your arm. You finally threw a jab which he caught. The only thing keeping your balance  
was your and the hedgehog's legs. Like some kind of odd creature with two heads and no  
arms trying to stay on his two feet.  
  
The two of you butt heads like goats while still trapped in each other's grasps. You pulled  
back and connected again.  
  
The pain was too unbearable and the two of you untangled and collapsed to the ground.  
  
You let your head rest on the ground as Sonic stared at the dirt. The two of you were  
panting hard. You lifted your head and sat on your knees.  
  
Sonic's wheezing grew louder and louder. "No."  
  
The two of you rose to your feet in a turn to face one another as your fists flew through  
the air. Your fists came together with a crack.  
  
Your hand was broken. Sonic's was too. He had severe bruises on his face along with a  
bust open lip. You had some bruises of your own, and you were bleeding internally. Your  
hut was in shambles. Two villager's huts were utterly destroyed along with some other  
property damage. Blood was sprinkled all over the battleground.  
  
As you and Sonic lay collapsed over each other the villagers began to crowd around the  
two of you. A few were crying. A few were laughing. A few were silent. A few were  
handing cash to one another to finish bets.  
  
You felt Sonic's bloody white glove embrace your stomach. You looked down to see the  
busted lip on his face. His eyes were closed, so serene.  
  
You were so close. This was heaven.  
  
Heaven after Hell.  
  
His eyes slid open slowly. His lips parted, accenting his broken mouth. You felt your own  
eyelids becoming heavy. It was as you started to descend into unconsciousness when you  
said something. No sound, just the mouth moving.  
  
"You'll never be my equal." He replied.  
  
Your heart fell as you passed out.  
  
Sleep. Dreamless sleep. Thank God.  
***************************  
  
This is still not the end  
Reviews are appreciated 


	6. Emotion

All characters are copywrite Sega, and other media companies responsible for the  
international Sonic franchises (including DiC and Archie). This applies to all 'Glint' stories.   
  
Story is by: M.C. Griffin (unless otherwise stated... I guess.)  
*********************************  
  
You woke up to the sound of Sonic's foot kicking the outside of the bed with his heel. He was  
sitting at the foot of your bed staring up at the hospital ceiling, bandages all over his body. It was  
still morning. Everything was still wet. He turned his head slightly, just enough so you could see  
his face. He looked about the hospital walls.  
  
Nothing seemed real anymore. Sonic almost seemed outlined, and made of simple shades of blue,  
tan, red, and white. The hospital, in its dewy environment, seemed painted with water colors. You  
were afraid to speak for fear that it wouldn't be your own voice, just someone acting. You looked  
at Sonic moving. Then at your own hand. Was it a solid movement that the two of you were  
making or... frames.  
  
His face wrenched a bit as it turned out of your site. Sonic's face plowed into his hands, holding it  
as you would a large fruit. His quills rose into the air like several large mountains. The humid  
sweat moved slowly down his plastic-like quills. The choking sound of crying escaped from  
Sonic. It was the most honest cry you've heard in a while.  
  
"Sonic I..."  
  
Cryin' wussy boy?  
  
"Oh... Sal. Your awake."  
  
"Are you okay?"  
  
"Ya... I'm fine."  
  
"That's good."  
  
"I..."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I didn't mean to hurt you."  
  
"No... I'm fine."  
  
Look at you two. You were both lying.  
  
"No... I could've killed you."  
"No... I'm seriously okay."  
  
"No your not. You're bleeding internally."  
  
"What?..."  
  
  
"One spin. Just one spin and I would've been responsible for killing you."  
  
"I'm bleeding *internally*?"  
  
"Yes... oh GOD I'm sorry!!" He cried harder. "Its just... you were so fast... so strong... how? The  
doctor says you'll be okay though... how Sal?"  
  
"I..."  
  
"I just can't figure out how..." He practically whimpered.  
  
"I..." You began to move up the bed toward him. To comfort him. To make him know your still  
his friend."  
  
"HOW!!!?" He spun around with a look of utter rage. You turned away and cringed as if he  
struck you in the face.  
  
He began to cry again. You stood up in bed and came closer to him. His back heaved up and  
down with his heavy breathing. You approached slowly, crawling on your knees on the bed  
toward him. He sobbingly inhaled as your hand glided on his smooth blue back.  
  
"Why are you so angry?"  
  
"A lot of stuff is moving through my head, and all it took was for us to smack each other around."  
  
"Please... I want to know what your thinking."  
  
"That I could have killed you, and I seriously hurt you. That I shouldn't have reacted to your  
strength like I did... its just... it was so automatic. You surprised me with all of your power and I  
met you with instinct. I'm thinking that it doesn't make sense. That there is no way that you could  
be that powerful. Part of me though... is proud of you. I see you becoming more powerful, and it  
makes me happy... but... it confuses me. It scares me..."  
  
He had stopped crying. He was obviously more sensitive than anyone gave him credit for.  
  
"Anything else?"  
  
"Uh..."  
"Yes?"  
  
"I think I love you."  
  
Fuck.  
  
  
Shit.  
  
"I'm sorry Sonic... I..."  
  
"Wait! No! Don't say anything. I'm way out of line princess."  
  
"Sonic..."  
  
"I gotta split."  
  
"Sonic..."  
  
"Sorry Sal. Later."  
  
"Sonic..."  
  
Sonic walked slowly out of the hospital. His exit was followed by a sonic boom, the sign that he  
ran right as he left.  
  
"Sonic..."  
  
You were all alone. Your body was broken because of the fight. Your village was broken because  
of the fight. Your heart was broken because of the fight.  
  
"I love you too..."  
  
Guilt.  
  
Somewhere Sonic was spin dashing through trees. Somewhere Sonic was smashing bugs.  
Somewhere Sonic was throwing rocks into the river. Somewhere Sonic was ignoring his friends.  
Somewhere Sonic was standing on a mountain and cursing at God. Where you were, Sonic was  
gone.  
  
It seemed like you laid at the foot of your bed all day, trying to ignore the itchy feeling left by  
your bandages. Who did you love? Could you love more than one person? Could you tell Bunny  
about what happened?  
  
Bunny stepped into the hospital with a plate of fruit for you. It was a package deal. You were  
hungry and lonely.  
  
"How ya doin' sugar?"  
  
"I hurt, but I'm okay."  
  
"Man... the two of you really did some damage."  
  
"Ya... we did hurt each other pretty bad."  
  
"Ya, but I meant the village. Those two dogs want their houses rebuilt."  
  
"Tell 'im we'll get right on it."  
  
"So... you feelin' allright?"  
  
"I'm bleeding internally but other than that, I couldn't be better."  
  
"Bleeding internally?"  
  
"Ya... the doc says its not serious."  
  
"Oh... that's good."  
  
"Ya..." You began to think of Sonic's words. No. You couldn't. You needed to reaffirm your  
affections. You began to rub Bunny's stomach. She ran her metal arm up yours.  
  
"We can't here."  
  
"No... its okay. I run the town remember?" You helped her onto the bed and pulled her in real  
close.  
  
She ran her hand through your hair, inspecting the bandage on your forehead.  
*Sonic ramming his head into yours*  
You pressed up against Bunny's large bust.  
*Sonic jumping from a hut to hit you on another hut*  
Her natural hand grabbed your ass.  
*Sonic flying through the air at you with his training staff*  
You kissed her with tongue.  
*Sonic running, ready to strike you*  
  
You pulled away. Those images of Sonic. The ones you got when you touched Bunny. They were  
finally clear but... they had you in them. You were that missing factor.  
  
*I loVe yoU.*  
Oh god.  
  
"What?" Bunny asked. Her eyes were big with concern. "What is it?"  
  
Then you thought for a moment. If you kept going, you could love them both. Bunny on your  
skin, Sonic in your mind.  
  
You brought Bunny in for another kiss and the two of you continued for a long while, your  
images of Sonic strobeing consistently the whole time. When it was all over, you couldn't help but  
feel guilty. But at the same time, you were happy.  
  
"Your injuries have postponed the mission Sally."  
  
"I know."  
  
"When should we reschedule the mission to?"  
  
"Next week. I should be optimum then."  
  
"What about Sonic?"  
  
"His wounds aren't as serious. There shouldn't be a problem with him."  
  
By now the two of you were just staring into each other's eyes. Silence. Then the door swung  
open. Bunny jumped like her namesake, her species. She swung her legs up off of the bed. Her  
red cheeks shown through the white fur on her face. She chuckled nervously.  
  
"Hey Doc." You said confidently.  
  
"Hi." Bunny said meekly.  
  
"May I have a moment with my patient?"  
  
"Heh..." Bunny could barely stand her embarrassment. "Later Sal."  
  
She walked out, looking behind her back at you, giggling the whole way.  
  
"Hm." Said the doctor.  
  
"You needed something?" You asked.  
  
"Sonic left without my clearing him I see. How do you deal with him?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"He doesn't seem like a team player."  
  
"Well... he isn't really on the team. Or at least not the way I consider the other Freedom Fighters  
to be on the team."  
  
"I don't understand Princess. Please explain."  
  
"Well, the rest of us do the covert stuff. A bomb here, unlock a door there, debug a computer  
system somewhere else. Sonic mostly does assault, retrieval, and heavy infiltration. The only other  
member of the team that can do anything close to the tasks that we request of Sonic is Bunny."  
  
"Hm... you seem to be in that category too."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Fast and strong. Is that how you would define that kind of Freedom Fighter."  
  
"Ya... I guess."  
  
"How else would you define someone who can not only jump onto a building, but punch someone  
onto one."  
  
"You saw the fight?"  
  
"I heard from a friend."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Said friend is now moving his stuff from the rubble of his home."  
  
"Oh shit... which one? The one that collapsed from Sonic's impact on it or the one I flew  
through?"  
  
"I don't think it matters?"  
  
"Sigh... what's his name?"  
  
"Vee."  
  
"God... we really did get out of hand..."  
  
"Princess... if you ever convince yourself otherwise I'd be forced to deem you clinically insane."  
  
You lay back onto your pillow looking over the hospital.  
  
Somewhere Sonic was bowing his head. Somewhere Sonic was kicking a rock slowly.  
Somewhere Sonic was holding his head in his hands.  
  
As time went by your wounds healed and things began to return to normal. Aside from the two  
dogs' constant bitching and moaning about their property damage, your image had returned to the  
standard 'messiah' level.  
  
Somewhere Sonic was giving a deep sigh. Somewhere Sonic was ignoring his friends.  
  
It was the fateful day of the latest mission. Hopefully this one would be above average. Most  
likely it would turn out to be another complete waste of time. How many missions had it been.  
  
Somewhere Sonic was jealous of Bunny. Somewhere Sonic was watching you from a distance.  
Somewhere Sonic was awake at night thinking of you.  
  
You wished Sonic could be the same as he was before. Your friend. Your family. Not so...  
distant.  
  
Somewhere Sonic was hating himself.  
  
You laid on top of your bed with your vest and boots on. Sonic's image dashed through your  
head. You barely ever saw that friendly smirk anymore, just his head turned away in shame. Why  
couldn't you have that back? What about you? What about your life? Did he ever think about how  
much more complicated his love would make her life.  
  
"Fuck you for loving me."  
  
Somewhere Sonic was trying to get over you.  
  
You decided to try and find Bunny. You wanted to reaffirm your status with her. You loved her  
not him. You could never love him because he could never accept what you have become. He  
couldn't accept anything better than him. It was funny, your power seemed to be both what he  
hated and loved at the same time.  
  
We hate what we don't understand.  
  
We love what we admire.  
  
The blue blur was a running contradiction.  
  
The running contradiction was sitting at the edge of the forest where everything descended into  
dark desert.  
  
Everything was dark. Nothing was good. No sound but wind. No smell but petroleum from the  
city. It was perfect. The sun beat heavy in the air as grains of sand swept into the air from the  
hollow wind blowing through the landscape.  
  
He stepped slowly down the bare incline, crossing the threshold from good to evil. He didn't think  
that good fit his description anymore. He couldn't be defined by something that black and white  
anymore.  
  
He looked up at the huge structure in the middle of Robotropolis which could only be recognized  
as Robotnik's fortress. "Today's the day you fat fuck!" He clenched his fists as sand swirled all  
around him. "Today's the day the fat man's castle comes tumbling down."  
  
Sonic's head shifted at the sound of tractor treads coming East of him. Nowhere to hide. He  
looked over to see the familiar chicken bot and his drill themed robot sidekick.  
  
Scratch: ... And then the little fucker jumps at me.  
  
Grounder: Jumped at you?  
  
Scratch: Ya! Can you fuckin' believe that?  
  
Grounder: So whadju do?  
  
Scratch: You kiddin'? I moved.  
  
Grounder: Heh. And the little shit fell on his face huh?  
  
Scratch: Naw man, get this. Fool falls right onto a sewer manhole. So what do I do? I  
stomped on the mother fucker!  
  
Grounder: Shit Scratch. S'not enough to just shoot the little bitch is it?  
  
Scratch: 'Ey! Who's tellin' the story? Anyways, I'm stompin' the little punk till he's bleedin'  
out the mouth right? Well, this mother fuckin' manhole just collapses.  
  
Grounder: Ha ha ha!!  
  
Scratch: So I look down into the sewer and I see the little fuck crawlin' around in the crude  
ass water just tryin' to get away from me when he's cornered by a bunch of rat bots. He's torn limb  
from fuckin' limb and all I can do is laugh.  
  
Grounder: Fuck... all the cool shit happens without me... is that the hedgehog?  
  
Scratch: Ya... and without Tails too...  
  
Grounder: 'Ey hedgehog!!! Where's that freak friend of yours?  
  
Sonic didn't even look at them. "Lodged in your mother's ass."  
  
Grounder's drill bits began to spin with an intimidating whir. He lowered his arms to the ground.  
The friction kicked up dust all around him.  
  
Sonic stood looking at the two from the side of his eye. His fists clenched, expecting a fight.  
  
"What are you assholes doing here?"  
  
Scratch: The question stands for you, hedgehog!! What the hell are you doing here?  
  
Grounder: Ya! Why ever leave your precious village?  
  
Scratch: Only pussies hide where they live!  
  
"Heh... is that so?"  
  
Scratch: Bitch! It's so! You can't believe how close we are to finding you! Every day you  
little shits are wasting away in your huts, we grow stronger and taller for all to see! What do you  
do? You hide!  
  
Grounder: Hide and blow up crap we don't even need.  
  
Sonic's brow narrowed. His legs spread. His arms moved out above his waste. He was ready for  
whatever my creations could throw at him.  
  
"You dick heads are boring me. You gonna try and capture me or what?"  
  
Grounder looked up at Scratch to give another sarcastic quip but met a cold stare.  
  
Scratch: Grounder... My gun.  
  
A small compartment in Grounder's back opened to reveal a very large pistol. Scratch pulled it  
out and held it above his ear.  
  
Scratch: Is this the day your luck runs out hedgehog?  
  
"I wonder if robots bleed. They must sweat 'cause you mother fuckers stink like shit."  
  
Scratch's anger could be seen in his gritting teeth. His hand, steady below the trigger of his  
firearm. All that could be heard was Grounder's spinning drills and the blowing wind. Grounder  
looked up at Scratch and back to Sonic nervously.  
  
"I'm waiting."  
  
Scratch screamed and whipped the gun. Everything flashed with the exploding caps as bullets  
whipped through the air towards Sonic. The hedgehog spun around, each bullet barely missing  
him by inches. The path of the projectiles could be seen by vectors of rising dust painted by the  
wind. Sonic landed his maneuver on one knee.  
  
The Hedgehog looked up just in time to see Grounder barreling toward him with those dangerous  
drills swinging at his face. Sonic did a few hand springs away from his assailant and ended his last  
one with a drop kick right to Grounder's nose. Grounder's nose cone flew into the air, whistling in  
the wind. He slumped to the ground, holding the vacant spot where his nose cone once was.  
  
Scratch finished reloading his gun when Grounder's nose stuck into the ground beside him. He  
opened fire once again as Sonic leaped into the air. Grounder had already taken many of Scratch's  
shots as Sonic landed on his head with finesse and balance. Scratch fired randomly in Sonic's  
direction, turning Grounder into a huddled mass as Sonic jumped from Grounder's disintegrating  
body into the air, eclipsing the sun.  
  
Scratch fumbled with his pistol as the hedgehog came down from the air and rolled into a ball  
right over his head.  
  
Sonic stood over Scratch's destroyed body, holding the chicken's gun in his hands.  
  
Scratch: Some day you will be one of us.  
  
"God... why does he even bother rebuilding you two?"  
  
Scratch: The two of us bring in at least five of your kind every day you idiot!! When it  
comes to winning and losing all you ever fucking think about is yourself!! Well what about your  
own fucking people!!? How does your worthless life amount to the hundreds that have been killed  
or robotocized by me or Grounder!!?  
  
Sonic bent down on his knees at Scratch's wrecked body, the gun to his head.  
  
"You're right Scratch. You're better!" Sonic gave a twisted grin as the gun flashed.  
  
Somewhere Sonic was unstoppable. Somewhere Sonic was invincible. Somewhere Sonic was a  
God.  
  
Somewhere Sonic was looking forward to the mission of that night.  
  
Over Scratch's destroyed head, Sonic was laughing.  
  
***************************  
  
This is still not the end  
Reviews are appreciated 


	7. Noise

All characters are copywrite Sega, and other media companies responsible for the  
international Sonic franchises (including DiC and Archie). This applies to all 'Glint' stories.   
  
Story is by: M.C. Griffin (unless otherwise stated... I guess.)  
*********************************  
  
  
Dark... cold... harsh... how could anyone live hear?  
  
This was the plan.  
  
It had something to do about Snively still having to tend to other things in my absence, in spite of  
his new responsibilities. He said something about waiting for Snively to tend to the output stats in  
the SWAT Bot factory. There was mention of having Sonic take out the guards guarding the  
control room in Snively's absence, and Bunny rigging their bodies to work like bombs like Rotor  
showed her. Where it got kind of interesting was when it got to the whole, detonating them in the  
control room thus negating my control on my own city, bit.  
  
You barely even got into the city when everything went wrong.  
  
Sonic had warned you before you left that your new found power couldn't harm any robot. "Until  
you get some quills like mine, or a weapon of some notable strength you shouldn't even attempt  
confronting any robot. You can't harm 'em 'til your more than just flesh and bone. Punch one and  
you'll break your hand."  
  
You were bleeding. You were scared.  
  
By now you must have been almost as powerful as him. Your conditioning with the power rings  
made you into a new person. Simply using one every day toned and conditioned you to that God-  
like status that the hedgehog could once claim as only his.  
  
Chuck: Sorry we don't have anything to drink.  
  
You looked up at the small, underground room. With its metallic walls. With its distorted  
computer screen. With its smell, the way everything smelled in this forsaken city.  
  
You cuddled yourself further into the red blanket as you looked up at Chuck's cold, hard face. He  
tried to give the warmest smile that he could, but it seemed pointless for a robot.  
  
"Its no problem. All I need is water."  
  
He looked dead. Like he shouldn't be moving.  
  
Chuck: You assume too much princess.  
  
You laid back onto Chuck's decrepit mattress, with its loose springs and lumps. You carried  
yourself in your arms, wrapping yourself in the tattered red blanket. It was so cold.  
  
Chuck: I'm sorry everything went so badly.  
  
  
His voice sounded so fake. It was fake. Everything here was fake.  
  
"Heh... I am too."  
  
Chuck: So... what did happen?  
  
"Well..."  
  
You, Sonic, Rotor, and Bunny walked the ruined desert path to Robotropolis. Sonic stopped your  
group, suggesting they should use a different path. You couldn't have known then, but Sonic had  
destroyed Scratch and Grounder on the path you were taking. No one was ever to go outside the  
Great Forest without clearance. Sonic had broken this rule many times but never with any  
evidence left behind.  
  
"'Ey, I think we'll run into less trouble if we go South side." he said  
  
"You couldn't have said this sooner?" Bunny responded annoyed.  
  
"Well..."  
  
"No... Sorry Sonic, but we're sticking to plan." You said.  
  
Now, when one falls into a trap one is usually caught by surprise. You couldn't help but notice  
Sonic's calmness. A trance like look of 'Woops, who knew that was there?' was painted on his  
face when a battalion of SWAT Bots and other assorted Badnicks rose from the yellow sand and  
began firing.  
  
SWAT Bots: CAPTURE FREEDOM FIGHTERS. PRIORITY 1  
  
Sand filled the air as laser fire lit the sky. Rotor hit the ground behind a hill. He wasn't battle  
trained, and he wasn't equipped with any weapon.  
  
You and Bunny both jumped back, souring from the cloud of sand and light as Sonic jumped into  
it. The dust parted as the hedgehog spun into the chest of the first SWAT Bot, ricocheting him  
into the air, and collapsing the Bot's chest.  
  
You watched in awe as the hedgehog dispatched Bot after Bot. Causing them to shoot one  
another. Spin dashing into them. He even threw one into another with astonishing strength.  
  
He stood amidst the rubble of the SWAT Bot battalion. "You shoulda' been told punk, I play  
ruff." He kicked a Swat Bot's head back into the huge pit that they popped out of.  
  
"How'd they know we were coming Sonic?" You hollered.  
  
He turned facing you, catching his breath. Over his shoulder you saw the terrifying sight of a few  
carrier pods rise out of the sand behind where the others sprouted from. You pointed over Sonic's  
shoulder, right as he whipped around.  
  
Everything seemed to slow down as Sonic jumped into the air, whirling around to see you again.  
He was so agile and coordinated. In one seemingly slowed down motion, while still in his midair  
turn, he reached into his backpack and pulled out Scratch's gun. As he began to turn away he  
threw it at you.  
  
Laser fire struck under Sonic.  
  
His feet touched the ground.  
  
With a crash, the hedgehog spun straight through the air craft. It spiraled 10 feet into the air and  
came down with a deafening crash. You could see Sonic on one knee as fire and scrap rained  
down from the sky. He looked over to you.  
  
The moment was clear.  
  
I lOve yoU.  
  
FucK yOu foR loViNg mE.  
  
He spun into the air making a tornado of sand as he did as the second pod approached. Once  
again your view was obscured by sand.  
  
You turned away from the cloud of dust to meet a stoic SWAT Bot right behind you. His gun met  
your eye. The dark barrel reminded you of the well back at Knothole.  
  
Suddenly, a flash of steel impacted with his head. As he collapsed an arc of light from the gun  
flew by your face. You flipped backwards to get some space between you, it and your savior.  
Your savior was Bunny. You watched as she took the SWAT Bot's gun and pounded his head in  
with her huge metallic hand.  
  
You looked over Bunny, seeing three more Bots coming over the hill from where the pod had  
crashed. You ran and leaped over her while she continued to mangle her SWAT Bot.  
  
You rolled as they began to fire at you, burning the ground as they missed you. You raised your  
gun to the first of the three now that you were in the middle of them. Two beams shot from  
behind you, missing you and taking out his legs.  
  
Well... how convenient.  
  
You flipped backward, grabbing his hand blaster mid flip. You landed on one knee and raised  
your weapons. Scrath's huge pistol and the SWAT Bots hand blaster. You shot round after round  
of bullets and laser fire into the other two Bots.  
  
  
They fell backwards, smoke rising from those metallic bodies, rusted from age. SWAT Bots  
didn't look like anything more than slightly human. They were never a living thing. They were  
soulless. Un-missed. No one would cry for them.  
  
Another explosion, followed by another cloud of sand.  
  
You felt a strong wind behind you and turned to find what had caused it. Sonic was once again on  
one knee, his fist touching the ground. His blue skin was tinted with sand, oil, ash and a little bit  
of his own blood.  
  
"You okay Sonic?"  
  
A smirk flashed across his tan cheek.  
  
"Way past, Sal."  
  
"SALLY!!!" You heard Bunny give a shriek that would inspire a stampede.  
  
You looked to your lover, holding a SWAT Bot's rifle in one hand, and pointing frantically with  
the other. A wave of dark covered steel came over the hill from Robotropolis. More SWAT Bots.  
It must have at least been fifty of them. Some with hand blasters, others with laser rifles.  
  
"Bunny!" You heard Rotor shout. "Rifle!"  
  
Bunny tossed Rotor the weapon. He caught the gun and pulled the lever back to full power.   
  
Rotor let loose a barrage of laser fire from the weapon, tearing a row of oncoming SWAT Bots in  
two. He was the one with the least physical ability on the team, but he was fearless never the less.  
Rotor strafed sideways toward a rock as he fired into the crowd. Light shot back at him  
ferociously. One shot hit him in the heel as he stumbled behind the rock.  
  
Fuck.  
  
The SWAT Bots continued uphill towards you, beginning to focus their shots on you. You began  
firing. The constant use of the power rings may have made you faster and stronger, but your aim  
was by no means better.  
  
Boom.  
  
Boom.  
  
Boom.  
  
  
It was amazing. So many 'bots and you were never hit. You just kept unloading with your  
mismatched firearms. You dodged lasers. Hurtled plasma blasts. 'Bot after 'bot went down with  
the pulling of your trigger fingers.  
  
Boom.  
  
Boom.  
  
Boom.  
  
Metallic heads, limbs, and parts flew into the air as you shot into the crowd of soldiers. Every  
stone had to drop. Do robots die? Were you taking life? Would killing be this satisfying with  
living things? Did the warriors who killed Mobotropolis feel this justified as they slew your  
people? Were you cleansing as they were?  
  
Boom.  
  
Boom.  
  
Boom.  
  
Somewhere you were unbeatable. Somewhere you were unstoppable. Somewhere you were  
invincible.  
  
Boom.  
  
Boom.  
  
Boom.  
  
Somewhere you were his equal.  
  
Boom.  
  
Boom.  
  
Click.  
  
Click.  
  
"Fuck."  
  
Light streamed by your face and body, singeing your fur. You were out of resources, you froze  
up. The sounds of lasers and plasma filled your ears. Dust and debris exploded into the air all  
around you. A crash that should've been the sound of death was instead a blur of blue, mercilessly  
ripping SWAT Bots in two. You may have been equals in non-lethal combat, but when it came to  
deadliness, Sonic's quills allowed for more boasting.  
  
You felt weak as you watched the hedgehog destroy Bot after Bot. Their chrome screams filled  
your ears like they were in a tunnel. It was awful.  
  
You went to your knees as these screams echoed across the battle torn desert. These wastelands  
were always the downfall for villagers who would venture out and be caught by a Hover Bot that  
had just happened to be in that area. Now it would be your downfall. Oh... the screams.  
  
It should have been good for you. To see the downfall of your enemy.  
  
The downfall of your enemy.  
  
The downfall of your father.  
  
You looked up to see the battle field. Fire burned on gasoline that was soaked into the sand. The  
corpses of dead Swat Bots littered the ground. Lifeless. Were they lifeless before? Not like this.  
Wreckage. Death. Destruction. Chaos.  
  
*HoW bEauTiful it aLl Is.*  
  
You remembered. The quick flashes of images were gone. The memories were clear now.  
Everything was so clear. You rose your head to see Sonic, covered in blood and oil.  
  
Your enemy.  
  
Killer of beauty.  
  
Killer of perfection.  
  
*I lOve yoU*  
  
FUCK!!!  
  
What were you? Friend or foe?  
  
With him or with me?  
  
He could destroy you. So could I, but I could enslave you.  
  
But what is freedom?  
  
I could love you as a father or a king. He could love you like a man. Like a prince.  
  
A mutilated SWAT Bot clawed his way up to Sonic's leg. His metallic moans rang out into your  
ears.  
  
01101101111001  
011011 1111001  
0H0W M1100Y  
0HOW M110CY  
SHOW MERCY  
  
You couldn't deny it. You heard it. It was the same scream as the Mobotropolians had. The same  
call for sanity. The same call for peace.  
  
Sonic killed him just as well as he killed any other Bot.  
  
Over and under all the sounds of war and destruction that one plea was heard, but then muffled by  
he who you called your friend. Your ally. Your love.  
  
Your enemy.  
  
He speaks.  
  
"Are you okay Sal?"  
  
"Fuck you." for loving me.  
  
"Wha'?... No time..." He sped off to kill more.  
  
More death. More explosions. You didn't want your friends to die. You didn't want your enemies  
to die. You didn't want anyone to die. You were weak. You were worthless. You were  
screaming.  
  
Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much until you pass out.  
  
This is you unconscious.  
  
All you saw were fireworks. Fireworks. You always loved fireworks.  
  
You woke up to the smell of blood. You were in cold arms in a dark alley. Reminded you of  
Bunny. Reminded you of the robots who first carried you to your cell when you were a child. The  
memories that you could so well remember now. Those memories shown even brighter than those  
of the battle before.  
  
You laid back in the arms of those you woke up in. Everything smelt of gasoline and sulfur, but it  
was okay. Now you felt secure. Like a child with her father.  
  
You thought of me.  
  
You looked up to your savior. It was Rotor. He rested his head on the steel wall of the alley with  
his head up, looking into the dark, foggy sky. You could still see the stars. The battle was in the  
morning. You had been knocked out for a while.  
  
Rotor looked as if he had lost all hope. He just sat there with you in his arms and staring at the  
sky. Transfixed on the moon. You could see tear trails breaking through the dirt on his face. You  
could still smell that blood.  
  
"Rotor..."  
  
You wiggled a bit to let him know you were still alive.  
  
"Rotor?"  
  
He just kept staring at the moon.  
  
"ROTOR!!"  
  
You forced his hands off you, with a loud cracking sound.  
  
You fumbled away from him, stumbling a little and looked at him.  
  
Bullet wounds were on his foot, leg, shoulder and wrist. The kind of wounds that don't make you  
die, they make you expire. His body was like a tree, unmoving.  
  
"R... Rotor?"  
  
He must have died taking care of you. You had no wounds. You were in much better shape then  
he was, yet he died caring for you. True loyalty.  
  
This guilt could never subside. His blood would be on your hands forever.  
  
The middle of a battle was obviously not the place to have a nervous break down.  
  
You looked around. You were out of the wasteland... the desert. This was definitely  
Robotropolis. The smells of blood and oil filled your nostrils. You could barely see anything  
through the dark and smog. All that could be heard was the wind blowing through the streets. No  
matter what though, your eyes kept adverting to Rotor's. His cold stare upward. His mouth  
gaped. His blood. His tears.  
  
He was a true friend. Favoring your health over his.  
  
You picked up your pack and put all of his supplies into yours. The alley glowed from the light of  
the power ring within your pack. There was nothing left but you. You couldn't be sure of  
anything but Rotor now. Sonic and Bunny were nowhere to be found, and the army of SWAT  
Bots would indicate that Robotnik had most definitely returned. You couldn't even be sure of  
yourself or your allegiances. You didn't know what was more important to you anymore.  
  
Human complexity?  
  
Digital perfection?  
  
Where does a program start and a soul stop?  
  
Who deserves more sympathy?  
  
What is a dictator if not a misunderstood leader?  
  
No! No! You had to keep your ideals straight!  
  
You had to keep remembering the difference between right and wrong! You had to remember the  
difference between freedom and slavery. You had to remember that the mechanical beauty of my  
creations could never be ideal for life!  
  
As you trudged through the cold Robotropolis streets you cried. You were confused and dizzy.  
You doubted yourself and the war you were in. With every step you took you cried harder. With  
every boot print left, a tear drop kept it company. You were tired and scared, but the feeling that  
seemed to be strongest was a sudden incredible thirst.  
  
You walked about a mile more, crying and moaning the entire way, before passing out once again.  
  
Fireworks. Yay.  
  
As you began to come to again, you felt the first pleasant thing you had felt the entire day. A  
warm blanket.  
  
Your eyes were still focusing but you could still hear things like the sound of small fans for  
computers and little beeps every once and a while.  
  
Finally, a familiar voice.  
  
Chuck: You shouldn't have been cryin' and carryin' on like that all night princess. You got  
dehydrated.  
  
You cleared your dry throat, and wiped the crust and tears from your eyes as Chuck's robotic  
figure came into focuse.  
  
Chuck: Sorry we don't have anything to drink 


	8. Fallen

All characters are copywrite Sega, and other media companies responsible for the  
international Sonic franchises (including DiC and Archie). This applies to all 'Glint' stories.   
  
Story is by: M.C. Griffin (unless otherwise stated... I guess.)  
  
Portions of this chapter contain parts of Sonic Sketchy, by myself and (mostly) Sean  
Catlett. Check out Sonic Sketchy as soon as possible if you haven't already, now... on  
with the show.  
*********************************  
  
  
  
Chuck: Y'know, good and evil are very interesting concepts indeed.  
  
You looked up from the bed you've been sleeping in for some time now to the metallic,  
mustached hedgehog above you. He was reading over some status sheets that he had just  
printed from one of the many computers in his underground hideout. The little shit was  
using my own technology against me. Undercover work. How pathetic. Living "free" in a  
city of slaves. He should've just stayed in the forest.  
  
Chuck: I mean, who's to say that I'm not the evil one. Posing as an ally to the doctor...  
hiding out as one of his own while really giving away important secrets to enemies.  
  
You didn't share my animosity for the hedgehog before you. You just stared up at him  
with those big blue eyes with the utmost appreciation.  
  
Chuck: I mean, that's basically what he did, and we think he's the worst creature ever.  
  
The irony is, now he uses my technology to betray me, after I used his technology to  
betray his entire civilization.  
  
"Why did you make the roboticizer anyway?"  
  
Chuck: That is a question not many are daring enough to ask.  
  
"Well?"  
  
Chuck: Why DID I make the roboticizer? Well, first you must understand something  
princess.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
Chuck: Our nation WAS a great nation... but morales oft come into question when it  
comes to obtaining that status. You see?  
  
"I think so..."  
  
Chuck: Well... our armies were not well equipped for battle. The enemy, the Overlanders,  
had weapons of mass destruction, and we were much weaker. Well, the Roboticizer was  
made to make the perfect robotic soldier, with a complex mind. We couldn't rely on the  
faults of robotic programming or the frailties of the biological body. We needed a soldier  
that would never tire, never quit, but he also needed to make rational decisions...  
something which a computer can't do. The roboticizer converted the body from flesh and  
blood into metal and wires. Complex system for complex system. Every animal had a  
different design for their particular species of robot. Based on that design, the machine  
would compensate for whatever other physical traits they may have, my mustache for  
example.  
  
"So... if your design allowed for free thought, then why does Robotnik's enslave."  
  
Chuck: That, I'm ashamed to say, is my fault as well. The people just robotocized would  
go through heavy emotional trauma... we uh... ratified this by inserting a program that  
would filter out emotions. You could still feel them... but they would not effect your  
judgement. From personal experience, it feels like looking through a window into your  
own sight. You can see what your doing. You know that you're causing it. But... any  
objections that you may have for the act you are doing are meaningless...  
  
He bowed his emotionless head to the ground. He looked around at the room, then at you,  
trying to give the best smile he could, but it quickly faded.  
  
Chuck: There were so many times when I wished that I could just STOP the horrible  
things I was doing. I wished I could show mercy. I wished I could just cry or something.  
Just... something to be... I don't know... passionate. But I couldn't. I could only look  
through my window and feel the frail flesh of the innocent tear under my hand. I put the  
force forward. I dealt the blows. They were my acts. The system made my compassion  
meaningless, but the guilt is there all the same.  
  
His metal, puppet like face showed sorrow, but it never seemed like real emotion from his  
face, his words were a truer testament to his unhappiness.  
  
Chuck: For my actions, Sally, there is no redemption.  
  
You never saw this side of Chuck before. He was always such a role model for you. A  
father figure.  
  
"Oh... uncle Chuck."  
  
You got up and hugged him. His entire body was cold as ice.  
  
Chuck: Warmth... I haven't felt it in so long.  
  
*He saW tHe saMe peRfeCtion in it tHat yOu diD. WhY elSe wouLd he iNvent it?*  
  
"Chuck?"  
  
You stepped away from him.  
  
"The emotion filter was your idea wasn't it?"  
  
Chuck: What?  
  
"Just... be honest uncle Chuck... you weren't really trying to create the ideal warrior..."  
  
Chuck turned away and started walking towards one of his many computers.  
  
Chuck: I don't follow, princess.  
  
He looked over the readings on the screens. He was clearly trying not to look at you.  
  
"You were trying to create the ideal... person..."  
  
He turned his head, his red iris glowing at the side of his eye, looking straight at you.  
  
Chuck: Yes... but I have felt the "blessings" of my creation. I have felt my "perfection" I  
know the evils that emotion can bring, but the dangers of an emotionless people are  
evident enough. I was raped of the emotions, the sympathies, the impurities that I once  
scorned and now that I have them back, thanks to Sonic, I'm never letting them go...  
  
The two of you stared at one another with a calm understanding.  
  
Chuck: I can never have my body back... but my emotions... my feelings... those I will  
never lose again.  
  
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..."  
  
You looked at your bare feet. You felt ashamed now. You made one of the greatest  
people in your life unhappy, and you could never take it back. You looked for someplace  
to put your arms, some way to hide your face, some way to be useful.  
  
Some way to seem less pathetic to him.  
  
You put your hand over your mouth as the tears started rolling down your face. You  
stumbled back onto the mattress. You tried not to look at him. You tried to be strong.  
Your fur became damp on your face with tears.  
  
You thought of Sonic.  
  
You thought of Bunny.  
  
You thought of Rotor.  
  
Oh God.  
  
"I-I'm... sssssso s-s-s-sssorry-y-y-y." you tried to speak through the tears, but what came  
out was incoherent sobs.  
  
Chuck: It's okay... really...  
  
He held you gently by the shoulders and brought you up to see his face.  
  
Chuck: Don't cry for me. Save your tears. You might get dehydrated again if you don't. It  
was hard enough to find water the first time.  
  
You gave him a weak smile.  
  
"Okay."  
  
Like a small child. Around him, you acted like such a child! So weak! So "innocent". If  
only he would have been around to see some of the things you'd done. Your dark  
thoughts. Your guilty pleasures. Would he have been so quick to reassure?  
  
You started feeling small.  
  
"Chuck?"  
  
Chuck: Yes, princess?  
  
"I'm going to go."  
  
Chuck: And do what?  
  
"I don't know... find the others... see if the mission can be salvaged."  
  
Chuck: Alright... take whatever gadgets you may need from my inventory. I wish I could  
help you, but there isn't much I can do outside of this structure without compromising my  
cover.  
  
"Understood."  
  
After collecting some things that might aid you, you took one last look around the chrome  
wrapped room with all the screens and beeps that, for a while, became home.  
  
"Goodbye, Chuck."  
  
Chuck: Goodbye, my princess.  
  
You left Chuck's underground base and emerged in a city street, the rain pouring hard.  
  
You wrapped the red blanket over your head with some rope to use as a hood. It draped  
down to your knees. You lost identity to those around you in this shroud.  
  
SWAT Bot Scanner: One of Chuck's home made gadgets. This would allow you to detect  
SWAT Bots, Repair Drones, and Hover Units coming close to you. It, however, couldn't  
detect robotocized citizens, the Worker Bots, because they communicate orally, and not  
by using any kind of remote communication except directly from me. There were also  
several "living" things residing in Robotropolis that could hurt you and wouldn't be  
detected.  
  
One thing was for sure, if someone came up on the scanner, they would be guaranteed to  
be an enemy. There was no such thing as a friendly drone. You would never have to ally  
yourself with a drone, so if a dot came up on the monitor you'd have no conflicts with  
killing that dot. However, although Robotropolis was enemy territory, there were still a  
few allies that could be sought.  
  
Although his master, Lazar was asleep, The Guardian was still moving around the outside  
of Robotropolis. He and the wizard, Lazar had become your allies after your last  
encounter with them. The Guardian could be sought. The only problem was, he would  
usually stay close to the swamp which was on the other side of the city.  
  
You knew your fellow Freedom Fighters were probably somewhere in the city as well,  
unless they met the same fate as Rotor. You didn't want to dwell too long on that  
possibility, but you couldn't regard it as too horrible to be possible. You had to hope but  
being naive could get you killed.  
  
However, there were more enemies that wouldn't be detected than friends. The  
robotocized Mobians couldn't be detected so you figured it would be a good idea to stay  
away from mines, factories, and other points of construction. If Scratch and Grounder  
were around, they wouldn't come up. Dingo and Sleet, two bounty hunters on my pay  
roll, were never robotocized, so they wouldn't appear. The hyenas were also known to  
roam Robotropolis for parts for their bikes.  
  
This was definitely hostile territory.  
  
You really didn't know the first thing to do. You knew that if you tried to exit back the  
way you came, you would be attacked for sure.  
  
So... you just walked.  
  
A blip would appear on the detector, and you'd hurriedly avoid it. Where were you going?  
  
You eventually came to a large metal slope. Oh how the buildings towered around you.  
Always looking as if to fall at any moment.  
  
You looked at the detector. Robotropolis now seemed to be a waste land. There was  
nothing on the detector. Not a SWAT Bot for miles. This was odd.  
  
You stepped up the incline, getting higher and higher.  
  
The lack of readings could mean many things, but most importantly, almost no chance of  
dangerous confrontation.  
  
Higher up the inclined path.  
  
The more you stepped the less you thought. You didn't care about any threat there may  
have been over this great industrial hill anymore. There were now only two thoughts: up  
or down.  
  
To continue up into the unknown or to descend down into the familiar.  
  
Nothing could make sense. What was this for? Why did you want over it? What's worth  
fighting for?  
  
The reasons were lost in your burning muscles. The physical had taken over the mental.  
  
Finally, you saw an end to this mountain.  
  
The longest moment was that step you took to the edge. Not yet. Not yet. You pulled out  
the detector. Still no readings. One more step.  
  
You were undescribably tired. You could barely see, and now that you were at the top of  
this great mountain, the gray landscape beyond it was lost in your inability to focus. You  
began feeling dizzy and light headed.  
  
You decided to sit down. Suddenly, you felt yourself drift forward. You couldn't feel the  
ground with your feet. Though you couldn't see, your dull senses told you that your feet  
were above your head. Wind whistled in your ears. Faster. Faster.  
  
Thud.  
  
Fireworks. You dreamed of fireworks. Fireworks, and a calender marked on Thursday.  
  
You opened your eyes to find yourself in an unusual... glass... tube...  
  
The roboticizer!  
  
Yet... for some reason... you didn't quite... realize it was the roboticizer. Your hair was  
black... and you were... almost... thinner. You weren't wearing your jacket, or your boots.  
You searched your memories for familiar faces. Bunny? Rotor? Your little Miles? No...  
you couldn't remember any of them. Just a village of oversexed idiots and a rather scruffy,  
nude version of Antoine. The only two tailed fox that you could think of was a girl  
named... now that you thought about it... her name was Tails too.  
  
Sonic...  
  
You looked around the structure from the roboticizer. The entire place was filled with war  
torn animals and... prostitutes being held in line at gun point by many robotic guards. You  
looked through the crowd for familiar faces. You found one in the front of the line.  
  
It was bunny... but different.  
  
Her breasts were bigger; her hips were wider. In this world, she was one of the prostitutes.  
But, most shockingly, she was whole. Her entire body was organic. She was dressed in  
red lace that was ripped and torn. Even though she was so unfamiliar, and she was missing  
half of herself, the metal half that you loved her even more for, you still wanted to comfort  
her.  
  
In the distance, in the midst of everything, you saw something that looked like Sonic.  
  
"Sonic . . . ."  
  
"That's not him."  
  
You whipped around to the voice behind you to see . . . . . . . you weren't sure.   
  
Some animal…………………….the color black.   
  
"You shouldn't get your hopes up," the color said. You tried to blink. "You'll be  
disappointed."  
"What?"  
"Just listen to me!" He was upset. "Don't . . . . . . . . . . .do anything. You'll be ok then.  
Everything will be fine in heaven ."   
  
Then... he was gone. You turned back to the front, where you saw... five Sonics.  
  
They were all mechanical except for two of them. Out of the two organic ones, only one  
looked like Sonic. The other was a black and red female. The robots were all very  
different, yet still distinctly looked like Sonic. One was silver, sporting guns. Another was  
a very shiny, chrome blue. The third, standing furthest away, was short, and somewhat  
chubby. They were all beating up on the closest thing to Sonic there.  
  
The black and red female Sonic grabbed Sonic and mashed his head against the glass tube  
that held you. You could see him clearly now. He was a darker blue, and seemed... almost  
fake... like plastic. He was wearing black gloves, like the bike riding hyenas did. He was  
covered in scars. But... the strangest thing about him... was his eyes. They were empty...  
white... completely. A see of pearl without the moon of an iris to illuminate upon it.  
  
His forehead pressed against the glass. His empty eyes looked straight into you, then shut  
tight, not wanting to witness your roboticization. You pressed up to the glass.  
  
You were so close. This was heaven.  
  
Heaven after Hell.  
  
His eyes slid open slowly. His lips parted, his breath left a mark on the glass. You felt your  
own eyelids becoming heavy. It was as the machine started when he said something. No  
sound, just the mouth moving.  
  
I'm sorry.  
  
"It's okay." You replied.  
  
Your heart fell as the pain started.  
  
Tubes and wires jetted into your spinal cord and head. The pain was incredible. Large  
machines came down, in the shape of your body. You felt a pain-rot cold sensation up and  
down your spine. Everything was hot and cold. Red and blue. Violence and sex.  
Destruction and creation. Death and life.  
  
More pain. More metal. As the the feeling on your spinal cord began to grow, your  
consciousness began to fade. You took one last look at Sonic.  
  
His tears streaked down the glass.  
  
Then... you were in the strategy room. This was the world you knew. You were back to  
normal. You started to hear that familiar whine. That... annoying... blood curling whine.  
You looked across the table with it's maps and equipment to the puddle of blood from  
Antoine's wrist. The scissors stood straight up, lodged into the table, through Antoine's  
wrist. You looked up to his face.  
  
Your eyes met and all sound stopped.  
  
"Its... all... futile..." You said.  
  
All was silent, even Antoine, but you kept talking.  
  
"Fighting it just prolongs the... inevitable"  
  
"What? What is inevitable?" He asked, finally speaking.  
  
"Roboticization... That or death, Robotnik left no other options"  
  
"So... why kill yourself?" He asked.  
  
"It was that or prolong my existence... until a fate worse than death."  
  
"There is no fate worse zan death."  
  
"Wha...?"  
  
"Now you can either try to end yourself and waste a perfectly good body, or you can suck  
it up and except whatever hand you are dealt" his deep accent grated on your brain.  
  
"If I'm caught...? If you're caught?"  
  
"Then we except."  
  
"... But...Roboticization...Slavery"  
  
"You never know, princess." He smiled "It could be wonderful."  
  
You tried to comprehend all of this... when you went blind in one eye and passed out.  
  
Your vision returned and you were falling from the great structure you were walking up  
before. Clarity. You had thrown yourself off. You didn't lose your sight up there, you lost  
your sanity. You were trying to kill yourself! That's why you walked to the top of that  
metallic mountain!  
  
You hit the ground.  
  
"Fuck you . . . . . ." Sonic whispered, face against the glass pane, eyes fixed on you. His  
hand came up to the glass.  
  
You were in the other world again now. Back in the roboticizer. Back into your different  
body... now even more different.  
  
Comfort was never so far away.  
  
"Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck  
you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck  
you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck  
you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you,  
FUCK YOU! FUCK ALL OF YOU!" Useless. . . . . . useless . . . . . . . useless . . . . . . .  
unless . . . . . . .  
  
Why was he so angry?  
  
You looked down.  
  
Metallic... claws? You felt your face... your head... your body.  
  
You were him. Metal him. Metal Sonic. Metala! You were so happy. A robot! A Sonic!  
Two of the things you always wanted for yourself but could never speak out loud.  
  
The tube opened. Light poured in and you couldn't see.  
  
When your vision returned, you were in a vast field.  
  
The air felt nice and cool. There were large, white clouds floating through the air. The sky  
was blue. The grass was green. Serenity. You walked through this new world. You could  
forget all of that chaos. You could forget all of that sorrow. Now that you were here, you  
could be happy.  
  
You walked to a lake and sat down. You looked up into the clouds. It was so peaceful.  
  
You looked into your reflection. You liked what you saw.\  
  
You were blue. The parts of your fur that were once dark brown were now blue. Your  
once red/brown hair was now blue, slicked back into dangerously sharp quills. Your boots  
were red as well, with white straps buckling them closed. Just like Sonic's.  
  
You smiled into the reflection. Now you would never have to compete with him. You  
would never have to love him. You could compete for love with yourself.  
  
An instant struck you, and Bunny appeared, crying in the reflection.  
  
At that moment, the field turned to jagged, metal hills. The lake got deeper as the metal  
hills got taller.  
  
You fell.  
  
You splashed into the lake. Now a pure white. You tasted milk. The lake of milk  
swallowed you up.  
  
Fireworks.  
  
Your eyes opened.  
  
You sat up... you hurt all over. Your back hurt like hell, and your arm must have been  
sprained. You were drowsy. You were tired.  
  
You were pretty sure you were awake this time.  
  
You looked up.  
  
There it was... the large metal structure that you walked up.  
  
You could tell what it was now. A building. A fallen building.  
  
You thought, 'It must have been Sonic' you looked down at your hand, now it's regular  
color.  
  
"Whoever that is."  
  
*************  
This is still not the end.  
  
Thank you for all of the great reviews. Keep them coming, they keep me going. 


	9. Hate

All characters are copywrite Sega, and other media companies responsible for the  
international Sonic franchises (including DiC and Archie). This applies to all 'Glint' stories.   
  
Story is by: M.C. Griffin (unless otherwise stated... I guess.)  
This is a supplemental chapter of Glint. Story to continue.  
*************************************************************************  
  
"Why do you even try?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Why do you even try anymore?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"What motivates you, Sally?"  
  
"Rotor?"  
  
"What motivates you to keep walking, to keep trying?"  
  
"Keep trying what?"  
  
"You're here for a reason. What are you here to accomplish?"  
  
"My friends. That's why I'm here! I have to find them."  
  
"I thought you hated them. Not just those in the city, but all of them."  
  
"What? I mean... did I?"  
  
"Did you?"  
  
"Yes... yes, I did... I do"  
  
"Why do you hate Sonic?"  
  
"Because! Because everyone looks to HIM as if HE'S in charge! I'm just the boss, but he's the leader! He's the powerful one! He's the one with all the abilities! He's the one who gets all the praise! He gets all the chicks! His shit doesn't stink! He's on the DVD cover! I'm just his fucking 'love interest'"  
  
"So you think you deserve your share?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
"What about Tails? Do you hate him?"  
  
"Yes. Though I'm ashamed of it, yes, I do."  
  
"So tell me about it. Why do you hate him?"  
  
"Because I can't be me around him! It's so wrong for me to be with Bunny while I'm around him! It's like, he's not allowed to know of his world! He's not allowed to understand. I have to censor myself around him! I hate that! Why did he have to be there!!?"  
  
"And Antoine?"  
  
"Unworthy! Self righteous! He lives in a world where the prospect of death is better than fighting for life. He'd rather be dead than fight? So be it! If he's ungrateful for all that he has then he should off himself. Then, people could enjoy what he had, but was too naive to appreciate!"  
  
"Uncle Chuck?"  
  
"Old bastard! He made this mess. He's worse than me! He had that same lust for destruction and robotic perfection that the attack on our city infected unto me. He must've had all this in mind, just for someone elses city. Now that he's roboticized, it must be easy to reform. I hate him!"  
  
"Bunny?"  
  
"Wha...?"  
  
"Do you hate Bunny?"  
  
"Uh..."  
  
"Do you?"  
  
"Yes! Okay! Yes! Fuck her!"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"For every moment she's not here, fuck her! For every second I can't feel her, fuck her! For all the time she's not kissing me, fuck her! For all the time I can't hold her, fuck her! For when her eyes, her mouth, her tits, her ass, her legs can't be seen, fuck her! For every vacant lot of uncomfortable silence that I must endure without a single "I love you", FUCK HER!"  
  
"Do you see what your saying?"  
  
"Stop this!"  
  
"How about me? Do you hate me?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Do you hate me?"  
  
"I..."  
  
"Do you hate me?"  
  
"I hate you for dying for me!!!"  
  
And when you woke up, on that cold, steel floor, fur matted down from sweat and tears, all you could do was cry.  
  
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.  
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.  
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.  
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.  
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.  
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.  
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.  
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.  
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.  
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.  
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."  
*************  
This is still not the end.  
  
Thank you for all of the great reviews. Keep them coming, they keep me going. 


	10. Awake

All characters are copywrite Sega, and other media companies responsible for the  
international Sonic franchises (including DiC and Archie). This applies to all 'Glint' stories.   
  
Story is by: M.C. Griffin (unless otherwise stated... I guess.)  
*********************************

  
  


When you finally regained consciousness, a little mouse girl offered you a dead cat. The blues and whites of your surroundings seemed to fit harmoniously with how you felt. This was 'Evolution'.  
  
The girl looked so happy with herself. Like she accomplished something praise worthy. Bunny came from behind you and kissed your neck. As you stood there looking at this creepy little mouse girl, Bunny placed kisses higher and higher on your neck. Upon the fourth kiss you held her head there. She began sucking on your neck, flicking her tongue on your furry skin every once in a while. You pulled her up and the two of you embraced with a kiss. A long, deep kiss. Bunny's lower torso seemed colder than ever. Her cold, stimulating hand reaching down your waist.  
  
The two of you collapsed off of the fallen building that you thought you had fallen off of already.  
  
Images of Sonic began to flash in your head. Unclear and vague, but they were becoming larger and a bit less static every time. Just like before.

Except before is right now. Everything leading to this moment was right now.

And with dead cat in hands, arms raised, there stood the mouse girl.  
  
No! You thought, I have to keep my head in the moment.  
  
You pressed up against Bunny's large bust.

Out of the corner of your eye you saw a flash of blue.

Her natural hand grabbed your ass.

It was Sonic, but you couldn't see him. Your vision was obscured.

You kissed her with tongue.

As he darted around, adverting your eye, you realized you didn't want to see him.

You pulled your head up.

Bunny spoke.

"What's wrong.... did I do something wrong?"

Your head spun.

"C'mon. Tell me what's wrong."

You focused on the mouse and her cat.

"Please..."

"Evolve." the mouse said.

  
  


"What's wrong Sonic?" Bunny asked.

You saw him. Sonic stood there, reflecting back at you on a mirror. Sonic was you, or at least, you were him.

Equal! Equal! Equal!

The cat leapt out of the girls' arms and on a collision course with your blue furred body. It exploded into milk and fireworks.

Everything went white, as the milk enveloped the world. The only thing interrupting the blankness being fireworks sparking up in the empty white. Gravity set in, and you floated to the ground in spite of the surrounding liquid. You could breathe, as if your lungs weren't filled with the smooth milk.

The mouse girl swam into sight. She moved child like as always as she approached your face.

Floating there, right in front of your face she asks, "Why do you say fuck?"

"What?"

"Why do you say fuck?"

"When?"

"Whenever? Why do you say fuck?"

"I guess... because..."

"Why do you masterbate?"

"Hey..."

"Why do you kiss other women?"

"Just a moment!"

"Why do you have lust for those you hate?"

"I don't..."

"Why do you hate?"

"STOP!!!"

"I'm sorry."

"What does it matter!? I'm guilty okay? And my continuing persistence in these actions makes me feel guilty, alright? Is that what you want to hear?"

"You needn't feel guilty. You just can't do those things."

"Why not?"

"Because this is rated TV-Y."

"Wh-what?"

"Bye."

  
  


Then, as she swam off, the milk began to sower, and become black, until the darkness and the blackness clogged your vision, and nothing could be seen.

As if your eyes were closed.

And then they open.

?: Did you ever have a mother?

A rusty voice, echoing with a chrome sound.

It was the guardian. His metal face reflected the moon. His red eyes illuminated the building sides. His cloak lifted and fell all around you.

"I'm tired of dreaming." You said.

He replied, stepping through the rusty valley.

Guardian: Yes. Why dream when you can live a nightmare?

He was holding you in his arms like a child, much like Rotor did. His cold, metal hands reminded you of Bunny's cold hand. It wasn't till you tried to curl into his arms that you realized how tall he was, and therefore, how high you were. You looked down to find, what seemed like miles of robots.

Little robotocized animal heads stretched out as far as you could see with your limited vision. This was why your scanner drew up a blank. Out stretched hundred of those which it couldn't detect.

"What is this?" You asked.

Guardian: Let them explain.

He sat you down amongst the robots. You expected to be ripped limb from limb, but you were so weak that if it had happened you would be powerless. They all seemed docile, though. They didn't seem angry. They didn't seem hostile. They didn't seem like they wanted to kill you.

Guardian: This is she.

They all reacted, calling all attention to the chrome, cloaked figure towering over you with those glowing eyes.

Guardian: This is she who delivered unto us, the messiah.

You swung around, putting your back to the crowd. You peered up into the hood, glowing red with his eyes. You couldn't wrap your brain around what he was saying.

Guardian: My brethren! Make a path.

A robot pig.

A robot duck.

A robot bird.

A robot cat.

So many species. Such variety. Each as individual as any living thing, but made the same by that beautiful, infernal machine. Their supposed individuality taken away by the roboticizer in a common fashion for each.

  
  


They all cleared a path down through this decrepit part of the city.

This must have been an abandoned portion of what used to be Mobotropolis. One of the many parts of the city that I didn't need. A portion of it that could serve no purpose, and would be too much of a waste to tear down. Maybe some day I will use it for something practical. Another SWAT Bot factory, maybe. Or possibly a roboticization chamber

The ancient, scorched remains of your once magnificent city towered over you, marred by age and battle. Polluted and dirtied by so many years shrouded in smoke and darkness. As you walked behind the congregation of metal animals, you began to recognize certain landmarks. Even after such destruction ripped the city into pieces you could still become nostalgic from walking the streets. For small, fleeting moments revolution seemed like the right idea. When the thought had struck back that this revolution still might have ended her best friends' lives.

Step. Step. Step. You walked with this precession of robotic animals. Like life-sized wind-up dolls from your youth, they walked in the same pattern as always, never waning or altering themselves. Past crude oil wells and dismantled buildings, raped and forgotten along with the legacy they once held. 

Your parade had finally arrived, and a great metal cave of torn metal and scrap loomed over you like a great gape-mouthed creature ready to swallow you whole. The animals with their chrome-metallic complections made a path for you and waited for you to pass as they stared at the great structure. Quite a paradox, this. A structure made from destruction.

You didn't move. You couldn't. It was too fearful of a sight, the kind of horrifying cavern that you would read about in a children's story, and all this nostalgia wasn't helping that. They were just robots though. They wouldn't hurt you, you thought. If they hadn't shown force by now, then they never would without a warning, so you just stood.

You just stood there, legs aching, as they all looked on at this cave of twisted metal, as if they had only just stopped. Like children lost in thought, they just stared at it. Then, you began to notice a sound. A hum. It was all around you. A low, consistent, and ever-present buzz. It was the robots, and though it was always there, the sound seemed to get increasingly grow. Now that you had realized this sound you couldn't stop hearing it. You wanted to run, but as you turned your eyes met with those of The Guardian, who let off the biggest hum of all of them. Those eyes. The sound seemed to radiate in the same way that the sound did.

Just when you thought that you couldn't take it anymore, a huge screech echoed throughout these wastelands. Your head whipped right back in front of you to discover the squeaking heads of all the robots turning to look at you. Now, where once they stared at this great, looming structure, they now stared at you.

Blank, eyeless stares.

Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

"Graaah!!" You stormed into the great gaping thing, leaving those creatures and their noises behind.

As you stepped further and further into this odd, dark and eerie place, you began to feel cold. Everything was metal. Like the inner workings of a robot. Every bar of torn metal a reminder of how ever-present danger always is in Robotropolis.

As you stepped deeper into the dark recesses of this cave of metal, you began to hear another noise. Deeper and deeper into the cave and it kept getting louder. Closer. You didn't want to continue, but you had to. It simply came down to necessity, not preferability.

A green glow lit up deeper into the great metal structure, and you felt yourself incredibly curious of whatever was making this phenomena occur. As you approached, the humming became louder as well. A green glowing buzz of sound.

You finally came into eye contact of the mystery object within this metal cave and all you could even think was: 

"Oh. I seem to have forgotten something."

It was Nicole.

Nicole was the name for beauty and wisdom. Guidance. Maturity. Knowledge.

And you had somehow managed to lose her somewhere along the line.

Now don't you feel irresponsible.

You still couldn't even remember what mission it was that Nicole had been lost. One day you thought of something you might have needed her for. You checked your satchel. Oops, it's gone. Move on.

What a great leader you are.

But now, there Nicole was perched. Stood up on a makeshift podium made from junked parts of various different machines. It was made just for her. The small, compact computer was opened and sat upright. It was practically a shrine for this computer. Goddess Nicole. On a pedestal to be worshiped.

You looked back down the cave, and at its opening stared back the eyes of so many robots. Simply as if you were looking into an empty sky and the stars were just that much closer, those eyes glowed, hovering in the black.

Nicole: Greetings Sally.

The voice of reason.

"Oh, Nicole. It's been so long."

Nicole: Not really, Sally.

You felt so much more secure now, and a wave of warmth fled through your body, making you tremble. Everything could be better now. Everything could be smarter now.

"Nicole. Explain this structure." You pointed your compact computer at the odd construct she had been sitting on.

Nicole: This crude machine was constructed from the work bot 1.0 units residing in these parts. This was made from machines of similar design for the sole purpose of rejuvenating my power cells.

"Nicole. Why would they be interested in recharging your cells?"

Nicole: Their original intent was to inspect my mechanisms for possible use in Robotnik's machines. Their soul purpose in these parts was to find things in the city which could still be used, analyze them, and apply them to the inner workings of the city. They had sapped this part of the city of technology and machines entirely, and were never reassigned. When they came upon me, they began to inspect my practical uses. One downloaded my data, and found such concepts as morality and justice. Knowledge of the revolution was now accessible. Their programming was to find the practical uses of any machine or information. With these new ideas of Robotnik's evil, they now wish to use this information to stop him.

A moment of silent humming.

Nicole: It's only logical.

Robot: Sally.

You turned your head to the entrance. A robot had spoken up. Eventually they all took his cue, and began to chant your name as if it was simply binary code. Even such concepts so abstract like morality could be broken down to simple digital information applicable to a situation.

Nicole: They've heard much of you, Sally.

You placed Nicole with the rest of your equipment and began to walk out of the jagged, metal cave. All the while, the chrome voices of hundreds of robots chanted your name in systematic unison. Like a rhythm of one word. Your word. The only word.

Sally. Sally. Sally. Sally. Sally. Sally.

Anywhere. Nowhere. Somewhere Sonic was running.

Somewhere he was ripping through SWAT Bots and destroying hover units.

Somewhere he was with Bunny, who had lost her arm, and was slightly contaminated because of Sonic's inexperience with filtering out her bladder and urinary valves.

Somewhere they were barely surviving, but surviving nonetheless.

Somewhere they had become dependant.

How long had it been?

Somewhere.

Sonic stood amongst the remains of his enemies. A robotic leg over here. A mechanical arm over there. Dust swirled all around this dark alley of Robotropolis in Sonic's wake. His temple bloomed sweat. His knuckles quivered. A trail of blood slid down his lip like a new born river. He left it unattended.

Bunny lay behind him on her side. Her eyes were wide open with the shine of coming tears glazing over. Her position seemed awkward with the absence of her robotic arm. Her fingers brushed the dirt around. Her left leg on top moved up and down, almost simply to remind her that she was alive.

"We have to keep moving." Sonic said, not moving.

"Can we?" The leg stopped.

"What do you mean? Come on! We're meat if we stick around in one place!"

Bunny lifted herself up with her one arm and stared violently at Sonic. "We're meat anyway!!" She broke down in tears. Sonic could hear the dripping piddle paddle of crying in a puddle. He didn't know how to handle the situation. He just stood there, watching Bunny's fur get soiled by the ground, and the ground get soiled by her tears.

His fist tightened.

His head tucked in.

She cried still.

His eyes opened upon her with a stare showing the God he was inside.

"FUCK YOU!"

The alley echoed as Bunny looked up through streaming tears at Knothole's hero.

"Do you think that your lack of confidence means anything to this revolution!?"

"Wh-what?"

"All this deliberation and angst that every fuckin' body in this whole god-damn, so-called revolution goes through every fuckin' day does nothing for the cause!"

Bunny just shrank even further into herself and the ground.

"We're here to fuck shit up and kill the fat man! Isn't that what you want!?"

"It's too big."

"That's what he wants!" Sonic grabbed the broken toy rabbit girl from her crying puddle and pointed at the egg fortress that I called home. "That's what he wants! Does he need the size? Does he need all this big for his conquest!? No!! It's a trick for your head so you can know that you can't win!"

Bunny stopped crying.

Sonic continued. "You were letting him win in your fuckin' hidden village! We were beating ourselves down after mission after mission failed to surmount to anything! We did little pissing jobs before, but now we're in the shit, and all you can think of is how great home would be! How nice it would be back in the green wonderland where we can pretend that we can win and that magic is real and that love is undying and that miracles can happen! Well, fuck that! For some of us this is still home."

Bunny looked up, her tear stained face draining of sorrow and absorbing every one of Sonic's words.

"Before I remember any of this I remember processed food on my tongue. I remember capitalism. I remember fountains and chariots. I remember the thrill of dashing along the sides of great, towering skyscrapers wondering how anything that big could ever be created. I remember my uncle showing me how lucky we were. Lucky that we could live in this magnificent city and not selling chilli dogs to travelers in the meadow."

Bunny stood and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"I had this green. I love nature, but it's a second home. This is what I want back. Mobotropolis grows back where Robotnik's blood falls. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Good."

"Sorry about that, I guess I needed to be reminded of why we were here."

"Ya. No problem."

"Ya... It'd probably be easier if we weren't fucking."

"We fucked, we're not fucking."

"Please... it's going to happen again. I know you too well. You can't stop."

Sonic grew silent as Bunny coiled her arm around his.

Bunny continued, "And neither can I."

"It's best if we don't even talk about it."

"No. Recognize it. We've always wanted each other."

"...Sally..."

Bunny dropped to her knees and put her head in her hand. "I feel sick."

"Me too."

She played with his shoe with her hand, leaning on his leg for balance. Playing became rubbing, which began to crawl up his leg. Her soft fingers caressing up and down his leg. "Please." She said, "I don't want to be alone in this place."

"You're not alone."

"Please!" She squeezed tight on his leg.

"Don't touch me!" Sonic jerked his foot away.

He stomped away in anger, and as his distance from Bunny increased, so did his speed. He began to gain some notable distance, when a call of "Stop!" made him slow to a stop once again. Dust filled the air at his sudden stop, and Bunny finally caught up with him. Her hand clapped down on his shoulder. "You can't leave me."

They just stood there. Dust settling.

"We need to keep moving."

"Come. We'll rest together. We'll camp back in that alley where all those dead robots that we killed together are. We'll forget."

"I wanted this with her."

"I want this with anyone."

"I hate myself."

"Don't. Hate me instead."

Somewhere nothing was sacred.

Somewhere eyes were closed.

Somewhere there was sweat and panting.

Somewhere there was shame.

Somewhere else, you walked with Nicole back in your boot and many robots, along with The Guardian trailing you behind to one of the many abandoned buildings. A large dome shaped building, once lined with bright, vibrant colors, it now was dull and grey, yet still retained it's recognizable design. One of the many establishments of fine dining for the late Mobotropolis.

Nicole: Sally. Doubtless, to you the time from your fall and your awakening was perceived to be a few moments, but in truth you've been unconscious for many weeks. In this time these robotic slaves have learned much, and although they cannot physically help you, they wish to contribute something to the revolution. Though they have no memory of their organic lives, they understand what they once were. Here is the fruits of their labor.

You opened the doors.

You smiled.

After all this time of being away from the city. After Knothole had become the place you called home. After you were blowing stuff up in the city you once inhabited. Mobotropolis. Robotropolis. Fuck it all. Here and now. That's home.

You looked through the door.

Yes, this was home.

No place like it.

*******************************

This is still not the end. To be continued.


	11. Somewhere

All characters are copywrite Sega, and other media companies responsible for the  
international Sonic franchises (including DiC and Archie). This applies to all 'Glint' stories.   
  
Story is by: M.C. Griffin (unless otherwise stated... I guess.)  
*********************************

  
  


Pistol grip or arm stock? Short barrel or long barrel? Ballistic or energy? Which is more important, power of shot or length of clip?

You still stood at the open door, hands gripping the fancy Mobotropolian handles from so long ago. Your smile still hadn't faded due to the adrenaline high you were going through. The tides of change were in your eyes, and what you saw was the lunar moon which orchestrated them. The precession of robots stood like they had behind the cave. Except this time you understood their silence. They understood your potential to enact change, just like you understood the change that what lay before your eyes could cause.

You stepped through the doors, letting your hands lightly drag along the doorway.

Wall to wall. Potential destruction. Cans of death. Wall to wall.

Guns. Guns. Guns.

"Nicole."

Nicole: Yes, Sally.

"Can you access Robotropolis network information from a worker-bot?"

Nicole: I most certainly can try, Sally.

"Good."

A robot had already took up the cue. He was small and eager, possibly a child. All these robots had been robotocized before the revolution, you could tell from their clunky, inefficient design. That would mean that this little one would be around your age.

This just made it easier.

"Nicole. Uplink."

Nicole: Yes, Sally.

Nicole's uplink wire came spindling down like a spider spinning it's web, and you put it in the hands of the small child robot. He apparently knew this game, and eagerly plugged it into a port just to the side of his eyes. Nicole made a few clicking noises and grew silent.

Nicole: What is your inquiry, Sally?

"Priority one? Has it been reached anywhere in the city?"

Nicole clicked a bit more, then silence again.

You stared at the machine. Muscles tense. Head beating. You needed to know.

Nicole: Yes.

"Has priority one been completed?"

Nicole: Negative.

"Yes! Sonic is okay! Okay... priority two?"

Nicole clicked. Clicked. Clicked. This was obviously a tough question.

Waiting.

Nicole: Nonconclusive reports. Would you like to hear the backup status report of an offline SWAT Bot?

You began to sweat as your heart sank into your stomach. You began futilely doing the math, hoping that it could somehow not have been Bunny who brought up nonconclusive results. However, other than you, Bunny was the only other priority two threat in the city.

*begin feed= 9000kx544536ii4 00:50:55:12 -gehog, priority one. Pursuit activation 455. Error correction. Error correction. Evasion technique 324. Basic counter attacks. 1 deploy=miss. 2 deploy=miss. 3 deploy=hit. Freedom Fighter I.D.=Bunny. Disabled and unconscious. Out of priority. 4 deploy=miss. 5 deploy=miss. Error correction. Error correction. Error correction. Evasion technique 782. Error correction. Fatal error. Cannot correct error on port C25. Cannot correct error on port D55. Cannot correct error on drive Zeta. Critical error. Abort. Drive failure 65587CB66. Abort. Fatal error. Cannot corre- end feed= 9000kx544536ii4 00:50:55:20*

You couldn't get much out of that, at least not anything uplifting.

"Nicole, in layman's terms please." Your voice cracked.

With every moment that your small computer took to load information, more dread filled your heart. The prospect of your beloved dying just for this, in this place was unbearable. It was hard to choke back the tears, yet they never came.

Nicole: It would seem that before Sonic destroyed it, the SWAT Bot had incapacitated Bunny some time a few days ago. Faulty information made by the robots damage prevents a confirmable placement of location, but my digital speculation would lead me to believe that Sonic and Bunny are somewhere in the middle of the city. I find some evidence of other run-ins with the two and the SWAT Bots, but this robot was the only one able to recognize Sonic and still have time to backup any of his logs.

Sonic's abilities were impressive. The digital confirmation system on my SWAT Bots never was very efficient. Sonic could recognize a SWAT Bot before a SWAT Bot could recognize Sonic.

Nicole: However, the closer you get to the middle of the city, the more chance for confrontation.

"Good."You said.

And as the firm hold of a 550 charge SWAT Bot issue hand blaster, model 10 graced your hand, a shiver of anticipation rushed from shoulder to shoulder across your neck.

You looked at the surrounding room, and just like in the hospital room that seemed so long ago, you began to see that all the colors, so much like paint and ink, was all kept in place by black lines.

This time you wouldn't be passively observing the end on television eating Sonic-Os and becoming angry at the outcome. This time, it was your show! This time, it was your endorsement.

You didn't need any fucking catchphrase.

You didn't need a super appealing appearance.

You didn't need a sitcom celebrity voice talent.

You didn't need a franchise to be Sonic.

  
  


Antoine D'Coolette Journal Entry: Sunday

(Translated from French to English for lazy convenience) My wrist seems to be healing quite well, in spite of crooked stitches and unfavorable conditions. Fortunately I am ambidextrous. My motives and methods of taking my own life seem distant and forgotten, yet the princess' accusing, and demeaning words still ring in my ears like an infernal bell of hate.

Though I know my princess goes through many fazes with the changing of the tides, much like all women, I can not help but consider the lack of intensive planning and tact taken in this latest of missions to be the very reason the party of Freedom Fighters, including the princess, have not yet returned. I love my princess more than she'll ever know, even though she's turned into a heathenistic lesbian, so I hope she returns unscathed to be my leader and muse once again.

It pained me to see her indulging her sexual desires in such an ungodly fashion. Though I must admit, unsightly her rendevous with Bunny were not. Even thinking about their little swim out in the lake is getting me excited right now. I wonder now, what they would say had they ever known of my presence there, behind the bushes of the forest surrounding the lake.

I wish now, more than ever to hold the princess in my arms as both Sonic and the rabbit did in the past. She would be better with me than with either of those heretics. Sonic is the breed of fellow who can not settle down, or stick to one woman. He lives a life of cheap thrills and exploits those who can bring him these thrills. He will reveal himself to the princess as the horrible thing he is.

And Bunny... Bunny is a whore. Everyone has had her body, it seems. Man or woman. She even revealed her breasts to Rotor once to simply get a reaction. I even had her once. It would seem that her only reaction or solution to anything is sex and physical touch. I pined for her so affluently, and she met my advances ten fold.

This might not mean she's a bad person, but it does mean she's a dirty person, ripped of her innocence and purity by her own lust. Nothing like the princess. The princess without the rabbit or the hedgehog. Quiet. Humble. Virginal. Everything I could want in a woman. I could be good for her, and she could be great to me, but since she seems occupied, even if she doesn't come back, I will keep my passion for her a secret.

Unfortunately, there is no doubt that the hedgehog will make it back. With his cursed speed and agility, he is near invincible. Though he probably would save his fellow Freedom Fighter if need be, I bet Somewhere Sonic is looking out for himself, and no one else. 

Somewhere Sonic was being watched by millions as he smashed through Bot after Bot. He mercilessly destroyed armies of them in his usual impossibly strong manner. However, he was bleeding badly, and Bunny's ability to fight was all but gone. With her arm missing, her arsenal consisted mostly of various kicks and such.

SWAT Bot. SWAT Bot. SWAT Bot. They would all go down until he did.

Fighting was futile, I can just make more, but he fought anyway. By now it wasn't a probability. By now, he knew he was going to die. It was just a matter of time. As he ripped the hoard of Bots apart, he thought about all the bits of small damage he'd been receiving. He thought about how all those little things could add up. First a bump here, a bruise there, a scratch somewhere. Then, a skid across the side of his arm from laser fire. Then across his side. His head. Not killing him, but not missing either. Keeping this up would whittle him down to a skeleton. In this, there was no escape. Sonic was convinced that his days of fighting were numbered but,...

"I'll take as many of you mother fuckers as I can!!" He said aloud as he leaped into the middle of another wave of SWAT Bots.

Sonic was just about consumed with laser fire, but a long, extended leg swept three Bots from the kamikaze-crazed hedgehog.

Bunny's other leg extended as her kicking foot whipped back around. Using this momentum, she catapulted her other leg straight into another Bot. Sonic looked in wonder at the length that her leg could extend. An awe that they could ever be organic. Whipping her standing leg up, she began to spin with her extended legs likes a helicopter, lifting a large group of Bots into the air with these relentless, stretching mid-air kicks. She landed one foot on the ground, leaving the final kicking leg extended, sending the SWAT Bots in her aerial kicking path momentarily suspended in the air.

It took Sonic less than a second.

He jumped onto Bunny's leg extending upward. Dashing up the leg, he broke the sound barrier and jumped at the Bots.

The SWAT Bots couldn't digitally comprehend what was happening. Their logs would tell of being kicked several times into the air by a cyborg-rabbit with extending legs. Then, before they can even hit the ground, priority one destroys them all with one spin by running up her legs.

Sonic's spin continued through the air. He broke his spin, allowing himself to drift through the Robotropolis air. He looked behind himself to see Bunny continuing the fight. He looked ahead to see more SWAT Bots running through the alleys. He began to descend into this new party of reinforcements. And as he fell, the emotion toward his enemy who was embodied by all of these surroundings speeding by him.

"ROBOTNIK!!!"

He landed in the middle of the group, ripping a couple of them to shreds of metal and wiring with a spinning whip of his quills.

Sonic rose from the ground, surveying his surrounding enemies. Before their digital brains could comprehend him, Sonic leapt onto one's head and rebounded into the air. Their laser rifles went off, killing Sonic's rebound bot. Their heads turned to the hedgehog who landed behind them.

With a small hop, landing with a spin dash, Sonic span through the Bots, ripping them into pieces like a knife through butter. He let himself roll to his side for a quick stop and grabbed for two of the laser rifles that had fallen. He cradled their stocks under his shoulders and bent his knees to balance these two long guns with his small body.

His voice echoed through the alley in spite of the gun-fire from Bunny's battle behind. His words soaked in taunting laughter. "I'M NOT DEAD YET!!!!"

The glow from Sonic's fire into the oncoming assault hit Bunny's face as she continued her fight with the SWAT Bots Sonic had not destroyed yet.

As a SWAT Bot ran toward her, firing his rifle the whole way, Bunny dodged to the side and jutted her leg into his hand. The rifle hit the neighboring wall. Each SWAT Bot is fitted with a weak hand blaster on both hands, and this one stretched his hand out to give Bunny a taste.

The blast shot sloppily from the Bot's fist, and Bunny used her hand to spring away. Then, still balancing on that one hand, she extended her legs to wrap around the Bots arm. She let herself be pulled by her feet onto the SWAT Bot's arm. He didn't seem to know how to handle this, but he also didn't have much time to think on it. Bunny grabbed the back of his head with her single living arm, and with all the might in her legs and upper body, ripped the Bot's arm from it's socket, spinning her into the air with his appendage still wrapped with her robotic leg.

She slid on her knees as she hit the ground and rolled back, grasping the SWAT Bot's arm and quickly placing it into her own mechanical socket. His arm was now hers.

In spite of it's incredible size compared to her, Bunny seemed to be able to wield the arm well enough. She aimed it at the mutilated Bot, just then trying to regain his balance in vane. She suddenly heard twin plasma blasts zoom past her, destroying bricks on either side of the alley. She turned to see two more SWAT Bots run through the alley armed with plasma blasters. She simply shot two streams of energy from the fist blaster, sending the two Bots to their backs.

She turned back to the armless Bot, still trying to find a way to correct his balance problems. She let another energy stream on the Bot. He whipped around, contracting from the extreme energy radiating from the arm. Finally, a wire from his robotic neck exploded, spinning his head into the air like a coin.

Bunny looked down at the arm blaster. "Piece of shit!" she said through her teeth. The fist blasters were meant to simply incapacitate. It wouldn't take much to kill Bot or animal alike with it, but a laser or a plasma blaster would be more appealing.

Her head shot behind to see the Bots begin to move around on their backs. She leapt into the air, legs extended and impaled the two with her heels.

Bunny grabbed both plasma blasters, favoring the explosive bolts of plasma those propelled over the weak energy shot from the hand blaster. She ran as fast as she could to where Sonic was firing into the general direction of the SWAT Bot wave ahead. 

She ran until at Sonic's back as she sprang into the air with her huge SWAT Bot arm. While in the air she extended both legs to wedge between the two buildings right above the swarm of Bots. She let herself swing down on the axis that her legs created.

Bunny rained plasma fire down on the wave, as Sonic barraged them with laser. The clanking steal and ripping metal sounded like screams in all the commotion.

Slaughter is okay if they can't plead for life.

The alley seemed more like a scrap heap. A garbage dump of warriors who couldn't even kill two suffering animals. Needless to say, I was disappointed.

Sonic dropped the guns, staring at the pile of metal he created. He looked at his hands, gloves not even torn. He stared up in the sky, and Bunny had already dropped to the ground. He clenched his eyes together. His fists tightened. Tears welded up.

"FUCK!!!"

Bunny fell to the ground, weak from the battle and startled by Sonic's outburst.

"Why can't you kill me!!?"

This, Bunny couldn't understand. She approached Sonic slowly, trying not to anger him. Her SWAT Bot arm fell off from improper use and weight.

"What's wrong?"

"They'll just keep coming!! No matter how much we hurt we can never die!" He slowly cowered to the ground. His words faded into whimpers through tears. He lifted his head. "WHY CAN'T I DIE!!?"

He whispered into the sky, "I'm always the hero... never the martyr. There's nothing else to do but die for lost causes."

Bunny stepped up to the hedgehog. He was on his knees, forehead on the ground, rocking back and forth, still whispering. She let her index finger stroke his forehead as she turned around his crouching body. She knelt down beside him, letting her single furry arm reach down around his waist and rub his neck.

"Remember, we still have each other." she said as she opened her mouth into his, her tongue eagerly reaching past his teeth.

Fuck you is what he would've said if he had any will left to fight for.

Somewhere Sonic just wanted to win or lose.

Somewhere Sonic had become the cause he was fighting for.

Somewhere Sonic just wanted an ending.

Somewhere Sonic was losing at winning.

Somewhere you were Sonic.

Somewhere you were sporting battle armor, a combat helmet, and guns, guns, guns.

You were amazed at your still new ability to run and jump. Your agility now was incredible. Simply being exposed to the power rings was enough to heighten your abilities up to Sonic's level, and now that you had been well rested, you could really move. As you ran through the ruins, you thought back to your destructive bout of hand to hand combat with Sonic. The only reason you could do any damage was because of his hope that he wouldn't hurt you, and probably because he wasn't expecting a battle of that level from a person who, only a week earlier, wasn't even half of that potential.

There were still many aspects of Sonic's abilities that you still couldn't grasp. Running on walls was very difficult. Hard to think about moving your legs, establishing your weight onto one side, regulate balance and not fall all at the same time. Wall bounding was tough too. When you tried it the first time, you angled yourself funny and plowed into the ground. The hardest thing to do was Sonic's spin. You still couldn't do it without rolling around on your side like a broken wheel.

Only a few weeks ago you hated Sonic for these abilities he had and how much attention they got him. Now, you realized how much work it took to pull off what he does. He could do more damage unarmed than you could ever do even with all of the firearms.

Robotropolis whizzed around your head in shades of grey and black. Dirty sewage water whipped around you as you sped through puddles and gutters. Gunfire and the zip of lasers could be heard in the distance ahead. Battle was fresh in the air, as the closer you got to the center of the city, the more rubble and robot parts scattered everywhere. 

Coming soon, the end.

This was your line of action figures.

This was your comic book.

This was your video game.

This was your cartoon.

A swarm of robots turned onto the road ahead of you, approaching the battle that you would soon meet with as well. However, they would never reach their goal.

You leaped into the air, and onto an unsuspecting SWAT Bot's head, rebounding off of it immediately. As you spun in the air, you drew two hand blasters. Landing on one knee, back faced to the swarm, you turned to the SWAT Bots, arms crossed over one another and began firing wide to narrow. You had leveled all but two, one which had only been wounded now had drawn his rifle and was firing, the other, the one in the middle had the time to duck, and was firing as well.

You jumped into the air again, this time landing on the wounded bot's head, who was instantly filled with burning laser fire from his friend. You hopped off of his head, landing behind him as he slumped to the ground, unable to operate. You kicked him with enough force to drive him into his friend's body, colliding them both with the opposing wall. Before the living bot had the time to fall from this collision, he felt a disabling kick to his mainframe you delivered by jumping at his head feat first.

You could only run now. Fighting comes later. Your friends come later. Redemption comes later, but now there is only pursuit. Pursuit of those who rely on your heroics somewhere.

Somewhere, huddled from the oncoming forces.

Somewhere too weak to fight.

Somewhere without hope.

Somewhere waiting for death.

You began to see the oncoming forms of your friends, exactly the way you had hoped. Helpless, in danger and in need of your assistance.

Somewhere in each other's arms.

You had stopped now.

There was no more movement.

Just those animals in front of you, cooing to each other in each others arms.

All the Bots were destroyed.

Destroyed or dead. Depends how you look at it.

All the guns rested on your back began to feel heavy on your shoulders.

You looked at your arms with the dual blasters in your hands. You were so laden with muscles, that you could barely tell it was your body anymore.

You dropped the guns to your sides. Now, you felt like nothing.

Your emotions were all over the place, and all the battle had left you with very little mental composure.

So, what now?

He is with she. She is with he.

You are out of the picture.

What now?

You stumbled a bit, and sat against the alley wall. You so cared if they were looking. You wanted them to care. You didn't want to deny it any more!

It screamed in your mind, LOOK OVER HERE! LOOK AT MY PAIN!! FEEL FOR ME!!! FEEL SORRY FOR ME!!! FEEL GUILTY FOR ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But all you could do was stare. And then you couldn't look any longer. Then, you could only look at the ground and kick dirt.

The little rocks of debris were so tiny and quaint. They were lifeless and happy. In a world of rocks there would be no deceit. No lies. No broken promises. No empty words that you could speak with just your lips. Words like love.

"Fuck both of you for loving me." You said to the pebbles.

But that obviously made no sense. You were no longer the issue. They loved each other.

"Sally, I'm sorry." Was in the back of your mind.

A helping hand was clouded by tears.

Apologies began to be muffled by the sound of hover engines.

And as you looked away from your friends' attempts to apologize for their trespasses, your face was hit with the rushing air from a landing hover craft.

This one was bigger than those you were used to seeing. It had an interesting yellow and red paint job, and my emblem on the side.

Sonic probably said something, but you wouldn't care. Bunny probably could have said something if she existed. You redefined your entire reality as this one single moment.

The hover craft moment.

Everything is this hover craft.

The door began to open, and a green light shown through the cockpit. As it opened, the alley was turned into a wonderland of green. This light reverberated off of the broken SWAT Bot parts as if they were mirrors. Everything became so silent.

Then, after it was sure that nothing could be said by yourself or your friends that would ruin the moment, after nothing could happen to spoil your experience of what was coming, only after I was positive that all attention lay in this single, defining moment, I stepped through the door. 

  
  


******************************

This is still not the end. But we're getting close.


End file.
